Advantages and disadvantages of pneumatic transmission

Pneumatic transmission is a fluid transmission that uses compressed gas as the working medium and transmits power or information through the pressure of the gas.

Advantages:
1) Using air as the working medium, it is relatively easy to obtain the working medium. After use, the air is discharged into the atmosphere, which is convenient to handle. Compared with hydraulic transmission, there is no need to set up a recovery oil tank and pipeline.
2) Due to the low viscosity of air (about one thousandth of the dynamic viscosity of hydraulic oil) and its minimal loss, it is convenient for centralized gas supply and long-distance transportation. External leakage will not cause serious environmental pollution like hydraulic transmission.
3) Compared with hydraulic transmission, pneumatic transmission has the advantages of rapid action, fast response, simple maintenance, clean working medium, and no problem of medium deterioration.
4) Good adaptability to work environment, especially in harsh working environments such as flammable, explosive, dusty, strong magnetic, radiation, and vibration, superior to hydraulic, electronic, and electrical control.
5) Low cost, with automatic overload protection.

Disadvantages:
1) Due to the compressibility of air, the stability of working speed is slightly poor. But using a gas-liquid linkage device will achieve satisfactory results.
2) Due to low working pressure (usually 0.31MPa) and the unsuitable structural size, the total output force should not exceed 10-40kN.
3) The noise is high, and a muffler should be added during high-speed exhaust.
4) The transmission speed of gas signals in pneumatic devices is slower than that of electrons and light within the speed of sound. Therefore, pneumatic control systems are not suitable for complex circuits with too many components.