controlling a cylinder

[kryptkeeper]

hello, i'm a halloween buff. a programmer by no means. i use a E10 and "H" series plc to control basic movement of props, done pertty good so far, untill now. need to have a short stroke cylinder to extent and retract quickly, need a direction to go. any and all support would be greatly appreciated. thanks

[support]

The most common cylinder are pneumatic cylinders but you will need compressed air to be available to activate it. You also need solenoid valves that will channel the air to the correct chamber of the cylinder so that it can advance or retract.

The simplest solenoid valve has a spring activated return. When you energize the valve the air flows into the cylinder and it extends. When the valve is de-energize the spring will move the valve to the other position and the air will flow in the opposite direction and the cylinder retracts.

The E10 can easily control pneumatic solenoid valve since these valve typically consumes about 0.2A of current.