Here's what I've Dubbed - The Pneuboticus

[wikiwiggs]

So I was doing some proof of concept stuff at work, and although I can't share the final project info, I can share a little bit of my play time just proving that I have full control of the cylinders. I figured I'd post this here, primarily because ElctroNick got me started using the ULN2803a chips, and what you see in the vid + any build info I'm willing to share with whomever is interested. What a perfect fit for this application, Thanks ElectroNick!

-WikiWiggs

[ElectroNick]

So I was doing some proof of concept stuff at work, and although I can't share the final project info, I can share a little bit of my play time just proving that I have full control of the cylinders. -WikiWiggs

Thank you for sharing, WikiWiggs!
I love pneumatics myself! Have a small boatload of various cylinders (though not too many valves) and just longing for a day I have time to play with them, that is, simply see them move back/forth. It mesmerizes me for some mysterious reason ... 

What was the pressure? The manometer is sort of in the picture but I could not see clearly.

Thanks!

[wikiwiggs]

It was at about 5-10 psi
I was able to bring this up to about 60 with no problems, but there was just no need at this point.
One of my projects with these in the future is hopefully some NC positioned fixture clamps.
When I get to that point, I might bump up the pressure, but until I need it, I don't want to over stress my components. I just got through documenting the control for one cylinder in 3D using Blender. I used the game engine to accept the control from the 10 digit keypad. I have four cycles to interact with to show the whole interaction with animation of the cylinder, and the power flow through the wires, the pins on the ULN2803a, and ground.

The program was compiled on Windows 7 64bit, so it probably won't work on a 32bit os.
You can download it via the link at the bottom of my page:
http://wikiwiggs.web44.net/pneuboticus.html