Air slide question

[2muchstuff]

I have come across a 24" air slide in my scrounging. I have no working knowledge about these things. Are they supposed to be stiff when moved from one side to the other, do they need to be hooked up to an air source. Just how do they work, I don't see any kind of link between the piston and the slide, is it magnetically coupled. I figured I'd ask before I tear this thing apart. I was thinking of maybe using it or pieces of it on a smaller router if possible. Thanks.

[trubleshtr]

Originally Posted by 2muchstuff I have come across a 24" air slide in my scrounging. I have no working knowledge about these things. Are they supposed to be stiff when moved from one side to the other, do they need to be hooked up to an air source. Just how do they work, I don't see any kind of link between the piston and the slide, is it magnetically coupled. I figured I'd ask before I tear this thing apart. I was thinking of maybe using it or pieces of it on a smaller router if possible. Thanks.

Depends on the type of cylinder, but it can be magnetically coupled, the piston usually located in the middle cylinder (in a 3 rod system)is pushed along with air, you should be able to move it side to side by hand. If it has been sitting awhile you may need to break it free to get it moving again. The orings wear out and ofcourse the unit stops functioning with normal wear, or the o-ring rolls and jams the slide (common problems),or bushins wear out and the slide has skew and binds, But if you remove the air cylinder portion you can allways replace it with a ballscrew, and you will have a nice slide to use for your cnc. I am assuming it is a 3 "rod" configuration.

I have several of these myself (SMC rodless cylinders), and have started modifing for a z axis on my machine.

[unterhaus]

Originally Posted by trubleshtr I have several of these myself (SMC rodless cylinders), and have started modifing for a z axis on my machine.

Are you taking out the center rod? I have one of these on my desk at work, I'm going to put a z axis on a mobile robot to dig with. Don't think I want to have a compressor on there.

[ViperTX]

Well, I suspect that the resolution of an air slide would not be suitable for CNC work....they are mainly used to move from one stage to another and generally their are travel switches involved...

[2muchstuff]

Thanks for the replys guys. The slide that I have is a 3 rod SMC brand NCDY2S15H-2000-J79, no switches on it though. I did some research after posting this and found that it is a magnetically coupled piston type. I don't plan on using the air portion of it, I was thinking more along the lines of pulling out the center rod/piston and replacing it with a ballscrew. Now tonight I've got something to do, we'll see just how smooth this thing will slide without the piston and rod. Thanks again.

[JavaDog]

Originally Posted by 2muchstuff Thanks for the replys guys. The slide that I have is a 3 rod SMC brand NCDY2S15H-2000-J79, no switches on it though. I did some research after posting this and found that it is a magnetically coupled piston type. I don't plan on using the air portion of it, I was thinking more along the lines of pulling out the center rod/piston and replacing it with a ballscrew. Now tonight I've got something to do, we'll see just how smooth this thing will slide without the piston and rod. Thanks again.

What are you going to do with the leftover rod/piston?

[trubleshtr]

Originally Posted by ViperTX Well, I suspect that the resolution of an air slide would not be suitable for CNC work....they are mainly used to move from one stage to another and generally their are travel switches involved...

Switches won't be needed as we are only using the "slide" portion of the set-up. The slide is made of very high wear resistant steel rods,with a chrom-moly type finish, and the bushings are sintered oil type, so they are actually quite precise. A lot of these cylinders are put to use in automated equipment that need some repeatability in precision and longevity before needing replacing.
Infact the only reason I have mine is because the air cylinder stopped working, but the slide still functions flawless.

FYI You can find these smc type cylinders on ebay for cheap considering they cost upwards of $600 new


Is this the unit you have? it will work fine, just remove center rod and replace with a ball screw set-up.

http://www.smcetech.com/CC_host/page...C2075%40%29%29

[2muchstuff]

javadog,

I have no idea what I'm going to do with the parts as of yet. Any ideas? I don't need anymore fridge magnets.

trublshtr,

The link got me to a login page but typing the part number into the parts search got me to a page that describes it exactly.

The slide came out of some glorified piece of medical lab equipment dated 2002. I ran out of free time last night and was unable to take the slide apart like I wanted to. The weekend is almost here and I see some available "play time".

[2muchstuff]

Well I finally got around to tearing the slide apart. One of the o-rings on the piston was wore out and binding things up. The center tube came out and once I adjusted the side rods the slide moves like a dream. What concerns me now is the side rod deflection. After hanging the z-axis and spindle on it, there will be a fair amount of deflection.