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pneumatic ram build: input appreciated


JamesBBrauer

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parts so far

  • Scored a 5" cylinder with a a 6" stroke and 1" shaft on ebay for $10 (usd), plus shipping. It has two 1/2" ports.
  • Mac 4-way valve with 24v solenoid. Has cyl A and B outputs, input, and exhaust. All 1/2" ports.
  • Ordered some surplus 1" linear bearings to run on some 1" shafting I already have.
  • Got a bunch of 1/2" fittings in copper and brass (biggest expense so far).


the plan
  • Plumb 1/2" copper straight off the tank of my 2-stage 80 gal air compressor. It makes about 160 psi. I know black pipe would be better, but I'm trying to keep the cost down.
  • Keep the air friction for the 20' run between the supply and valve to a minimum with wide bends.
  • Shock mount the valve to the cylinder with rubber or maybe springs.
  • Put a 'T' with a screw cap between the valve and cylinder for squirting in oil.
  • Mount the cylinder and shafts together so the output of the cylinder is driving a hammer that rides on the linear rails.
  • Weld a 2" nut inside a sleeve on top of the hammer. Attach a mating threaded rod (I already have) to the shaft of the cylinder so I can raise and lower the hammer by six or so inches.


what I haven't figured out yet
  • How much weight will my cylinder move with my air supply? The plan is to fixture this temporarily to the bench and experiment.
  • Will this be a single shot or can I get some hammering action? I'll start with a manual switch on the solenoid for single shots. If I can flick the switch back and forth and get some sustained hammer action, I'll build a little timer circuit that can control the stroke height and duration.
  • What will the hammer and anvil be made from? I can get some 4" round stock locally. Depending on how much weight this can push around I would like a 10" length for a hammer and about 36" for the anvil. I'll dovetail both to take small dies.


<a href=hammerPlan.JPG'> Edited by JamesBBrauer
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  • 2 weeks later...

With a 5" cylinder you are going to have a verrrrrrry slow hammer. :( Too much volume in the cylinder to get any speed. Kinion air circuit runs 1 1/2"-2" cylinders. The difference in cylinder volume requires 6 to 11 times as much air:o to run your setup.

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With a 5" cylinder you are going to have a verrrrrrry slow hammer. :( Too much volume in the cylinder to get any speed. Kinyon air circuit runs 1 1/2"-2" cylinders. The difference in cylinder volume requires 6 to 11 times as much air:o to run your setup.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I got a really good deal on the cylinder so I'm sorta locked into using it. But I'll be sure to leave room in the design to replace it with something smaller. I'm hoping that by using electronic controls I can dial in the stroke length and frequency into something reasonable.

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