Pneumatic Actuator

Use the Pneumatic Cylinder and Pneumatic Valve commands to apply a pneumatic actuator to a Basic Joint with sliding or cylindrical joint properties. The Pneumatic Cylinder defines the piston and chamber parameters of the pneumatic actuator, and the Pneumatic Valve defines the force applied to the joint that is dependent on the pressure characteristics of an incompressible gas.

Pneumatic actuator workflow

The general workflow for creating a pneumatic actuator is as follows:

1. Define the range of motion. Create a Basic Joint with Sliding Joint or Cylindrical Joint properties, and use the following joint parameters to determine the actuator's behavior:

   • Select Attachment — Identifies the piston rod.
   • Select Base — Identifies the cylinder.
   • Specify Axis Vector — Specifies the direction of motion.
   • Offset — Sets the static position of the piston rod relative to the upper and lower motion limits.
   • Upper — Sets the maximum distance the joint can move. This value is transferred to the Hydraulic Cylinder to set the maximum extension value.
   • Lower — Sets the lower limit of the joint's motion. This value is inherited by the Hydraulic Cylinder to set the fully retracted value.

2. Create the pneumatic cylinder. Use the Pneumatic Cylinder command to:

   • Select the joint that requires pneumatics.
   • Establish the physical characteristics of the cylinder, such as the piston rod type, rod diameter, and piston diameter.
   • Specify the characteristics of the gas used in the system.

3. Create the pneumatic valve. Use the Pneumatic Valve command to:

   • Select the Pneumatic Cylinder that you want to control. You can use a single valve to control the flow rate of one or multiple cylinders.
   • Establish the functional characteristics of the valve, such as the valve type, to determine the directional forces and air pressures. Use the three-position valve when you only want to apply pneumatic force in one direction. Use the four-position valve to apply pneumatic force in either direction. You can apply a three-position valve or a four-position valve to either a single-rod pneumatic cylinder or a double-rod pneumatic cylinder.
   • Use the Control Input parameter to set the initial state of the valve by activating and deactivating the air flow.

4. Control the pneumatics during a simulation. To control the pneumatics during a simulation, use operations, signals, or the Runtime Inspector to change the Control Input value in the Pneumatic Valve command.

Where do I find it?

Application	Mechatronics Concept Designer
Command	Pneumatic Cylinder, Pneumatic Valve

How do I

• Create a pneumatic actuator
• Control a pneumatic actuator

Learn more

Related actuator topics in this section:

• Adding abstract actuators
• Position Control
• Speed Control
• Hydraulic Actuator
• Inverse Kinematics

Look up more details

• Pneumatic Cylinder dialog box
• Pneumatic Valve dialog box

Quick links

• Introduction to Mechatronics Concept Designer
• Mechatronics Concept Designer Preferences
• Browse NX help by product area

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Pneumatic Actuator, NX 2212 Series — © Siemens