What’s new about the Technic Pneumatics system this year? As you know, we never make new elements just because we like making new stuff. We do it when we can see an opportunity to make more realistic functions, improve stability, and above all: an even greater build & play experience. That’s why I’m excited to have these new elements working for us! If you haven’t seen them already, here’s a quick introduction to the four most important new features: 1. The BIG cylinder twice as longsupport more weight 2. The slim-line cylinder This slimmer cylinder is the width of a 1-module element. It works really well with the linear elements and will definitely give your model a real-life look and feel. 3. The little brother Whether you want to build in lots of small, detailed functions into a big model, or use it to build a cool pneumatics function into a small model, the small cylinder is your go-to guy. It has a two-module stroke, and the improved connector makes it easy to build with.
No pneumatics system without hoses! This year’s collection comes in black, grey and blue. No, seriously, the main improvement here is that they’re much more flexible than earlier generations. That makes them easy to fit into a narrow chassis and attach to cylinders and valves. Well, those were the WHATs of the new system. If you want to see HOW we put the new pneumatics to work, watch the 42043 Mercedes-Benz Arocs 3245 designer video! This add-on set is intended to be combined with the Simple & Powered Machines Set. It includes pumps, tubes, cylinders, valves, air tank, a manometer, and full-color building instructions for four real-life pneumatic models. The accompanying curriculum pack provides new lesson plans and problem-solving activities, as well as teacher guides and student worksheets. Includes 31 unique elements like pumps, cylinders, valves, an air tank, tubes and a manometer. Students will learn about and understand gas-powered systems.They can investigate the components that comprise the systems, measure pressure in psi and bar, and explore kinetic and potential energy.
They reflect and re-design the functionality of their models and present their findings. Students build models together, each focusing on their part of the model - strengthening their 21st-century skills in collaboration and communication. Download curriculum for Machines & Mechanisms for free. The maximum quantity of an item that can purchased in each transaction is 99.To inquire about purchasing more than 99 of one item, please call 800-362-4738. Lego pneumatics is a variety of Lego bricks which use air pressure and specialised components to perform various actions using the principles of pneumatics. The LEGO pneumatics components were first introduced as part of the LEGO Technic range in 1984. Since their introduction, LEGO pneumatics have featured in a variety of LEGO Technic and LEGO Educational (DACTA) products. The first generation of LEGO Pneumatics ran from 1984 through 1988. This generation is characterised by single port pneumatic cylinders and the more complex plumbing including a three port distribution block with a pressure and vacuum outlet port.
These pressure and vacuum lines ran to a switch to provide pressure for extension or vacuum for retraction of the pneumatic cylinders. These are often falsely compared to single acting hydraulic cylinders that require gravity to retract. The difference is that these units retract on the application of vacuum. In 1989, the LEGO pneumatic line was revamped, and a new cylinder and pump piece were introduced. The old cylinders and pumps were discontinued. The chief difference is that the new cylinder had two input valves now, which allowed both pushing and pulling without needing complex circuits involving the distribution block piece. Over the years, several new pieces were introduced in this line as well. The new pump was spring based, and could only be operated by hand, which limited pneumatic power to how fast it could be manually pumped. This obviously limited the power of pneumatic circuits. So in 1992, LEGO introduced two new pieces; a small pump and a small cylinder. The small pump did not have a spring on it, and it was designed to be operated by a motor, which would allow for continuously-running pneumatic creations.
As of 2011, the small pump has only appeared in one set — 8868 Air Tech Claw Rig (1992) (found on Peeron) — and a few parts sets (no longer available). A new version of the small pump was released in Lego set 8110 Unimog U400 (2011). At 2L, this pump's stroke is 1/3 longer than the old one's 1.5L, 'L' being the LEGO unit of a stud. This made it much easier to use in studless construction. In 1997, LEGO introduced the Air Tank, which acts like a battery, storing compressed air so that even more powerful pneumatic circuits can be created. This piece is very popular with the enthusiast community, but many feel that it was underutilised by LEGO, as it only appeared in 3 model sets and a parts pack. This tank is now only available at the LEGO Education Store, along with a new manometer part. In 2003, LEGO discontinued the old cylinder and switch parts, and made new "studless" versions to fit in with their transition towards removing studs from Technic sets. Beginning 2008, LEGO has released several sets with mechanical linear actuators, which are used for the same purpose as the pneumatic cylinders, but the fact that they can easily be extended to intermediate points means that they approximate hydraulic cylinders more closely.
The key components of Lego pneumatics are: There are three versions of the pump. The old Generation one pump, the new Generation two pump (both of these are spring-loaded) and the small pump without a spring (designed for use with motors). The Generation one pump is red, while the Generation two pump is yellow and has a larger contact pad at the top of the pump. Generation three pumps are now available in translucent blue. Pumps are the primary source of air in a pneumatic circuit. Cylinders look like pumps, but they are the outputs of the energy, rather than the inputs. There are five versions of cylinders. The Generation 1 cylinders came in two lengths, only had one input and worked on pressure or vacuum. The Generation 2 cylinders have 2 inputs (and come in studded, studless, and small versions), and work on pressure in both directions. They allow pushing and pulling, depending on which input air is pumped into. Switches have three ports on them, and a black Lego axle which controls which of the ports are connected to each other.
When a port is "open", that means it is like an open tire valve; all the air will leak out as fast as it can. When a port is closed, no air can enter or leave that port. When ports are connected, air will freely travel through the switch between those two ports. Tubing is simply the means by which air power is transferred through the circuit. Tubing can connect to a switch, air tank, T-junction, cylinder, pump, distribution block, or flex-hose. Flex-hoses aren't actually considered pneumatic pieces; they were designed as part of the Technic system for a different purpose, but Lego fans have discovered that pneumatic tubing actually fits over flex hoses pretty well, so many people use them as tubing extenders whenever they are needed. Flex hoses are more rigid than tubing. Lego pneumatic tubing almost always comes with sets in an uncut form, and are required to be cut into smaller pieces using scissors. On the 8049 technic tractor and log loader, the 8110 Unimog U400 and the 42043 Mercedes Benz Arocs 3245, the tubes are already cut to size.
A T-junction is a very small piece that allows three pieces of tubing to connect into one junction, essentially splitting (or joining) airflow from two hoses into one. These only allow 1:2 branching, but by combining T-junctions, any number of branches can be achieved (i.e.: one tube can branch into three by using two T-junctions). Air tanks are an important piece to most larger pneumatic designs, as they allow air power to be easily stored for later retrieval. In 2006, Lego has discontinued this piece. In 2008 Lego Education has re-released the tank in a new white color, as part of an add-on set (W979641) These pieces used a special kind of one-way valve inside of them, and three ports on the outside. The leftmost port could only have air going into it, no air would ever come out. The middle port could have air going in or out. The right port could only have air coming out of it, no air could go into it. Using these, it was possible to make the Generation 1 cylinders pull down as well as push up, however the pulling wasn't as strong as the pushing, and this prompted Lego to redesign the pneumatics into an easier-to-use and stronger system.
These were discontinued when Lego switched to Generation 2, in 1988. Lego pneumatics offer the opportunity to learn and experiment with the principles of pneumatics and control circuits. Advanced use of Lego pneumatics has been made in various Lego Mindstorms creations. Lego pneumatic projects usually include a compressor made from a combination of a lego electric motor and pneumatic pump, together with a pressure switch which will activate the motor when greater pressure is required. The pneumatic elements are most commonly used to resemble and take the function of hydraulic cylinders in appropriate models, actuating a digging arm or crane, for example. They can, however, also be used to build a pneumatic engine, which converts air pressure into rotary motion using the same principles as a steam engine. However, the cylinders are not optimised for this purpose, and such engines tend to be slow and lack power unless the cylinder inlets are enlarged. Because a slight delay is involved between increased pressure and cylinder movement, various feedback loops can be used whereby one pneumatic component can activate another in a series of mechanical events.