Accelerating a Mass with pneumatics
Accelerating a Mass with pneumatics
(OP)
Hey all,
Not sure I am posting in the right forum, but here it goes.
I need to simulate a mass falling from 10 meters, but only have about a meter of height to do it in. Therefore I need a method of accelerating the mass to a certain velocity, and then release the weight halfway through its travel so the mass is in free-fall at the time of impact.
The first thought that comes to mind is a pneumatic system with a magnet as a release. As long as the stroke of the piston is shorter then the 1 meter height, it would essentially give the weight a "boost" at the beginning of its drop. However i do not know if this is possible with pneumatics. Has anyone heard of a piston that would be capable of this kind of velocity? it is a 7 lbs mass.
OR if you have another method of how to accelerate a mass with these conditions, id love to hear about it.
Thanks,
Wes
Not sure I am posting in the right forum, but here it goes.
I need to simulate a mass falling from 10 meters, but only have about a meter of height to do it in. Therefore I need a method of accelerating the mass to a certain velocity, and then release the weight halfway through its travel so the mass is in free-fall at the time of impact.
The first thought that comes to mind is a pneumatic system with a magnet as a release. As long as the stroke of the piston is shorter then the 1 meter height, it would essentially give the weight a "boost" at the beginning of its drop. However i do not know if this is possible with pneumatics. Has anyone heard of a piston that would be capable of this kind of velocity? it is a 7 lbs mass.
OR if you have another method of how to accelerate a mass with these conditions, id love to hear about it.
Thanks,
Wes





RE: Accelerating a Mass with pneumatics
Fe (IronX32)
RE: Accelerating a Mass with pneumatics
Rich....
Richard Nornhold, PE
http://www.personna.com
RE: Accelerating a Mass with pneumatics
Since you will be accelerating faster than gravity you would not need to release only at the bottom of stroke. I was thinking of a punch press design. You may need the ram to quickly reverse stroke and get out of the way of any bounce. Have the down stroke of the ram trigger a mechanical release of the object at begining of stroke. Vary the speed of flywheel as needed to tweak impact velocity.
Or just cut a hole in the roof....
Barry Payne, Titular Despot Emeritus
RE: Accelerating a Mass with pneumatics
"Engineers like to solve problems. If there are no problems handily available, they will create their own problems." -Scott Adams
RE: Accelerating a Mass with pneumatics
RE: Accelerating a Mass with pneumatics
Pin the lever at one end and locate a weight of ten times (or 100 times if this varies with the square ? ) at 10% of the lever length from the pin. This will produce a 10 g acceleration. Provide a strong "stop bar" at the end of the lever at the opposite end from the pin at the height tou require for the "free fall" to start.