====== Lego Pneumatic Sequencing Tutorials ====== ==== Author: Jadin Tredup ==== ---- **Introduction:**\\ The big picture of these exercises is to familiarize students with the basics of constructing and designing pneumatic circuits using Lego components. These tutorials will show you first how to construct a Lego pneumatic cylinders with both one and two switches, a motorized Lego air compressor, and a simple circuit using the components from the previous tutorials. The photo below depicts the circuit students will build in the final tutorial. {{ :screen_shot_2016-02-28_at_5.29.02_pm.png?nolink |}}\\ ---- **Parts List and Sources:**\\ A lot of the parts needed for these tutorials have been discontinued by Lego. As a result, they must be bought from mostly secondhand stores. At the time of writing these tutorials, these were the vendors I found to have the most stock of each piece available.\\ \\ [[http://shop.lego.com/en-US/Pick-A-Brick-ByTheme | Lego Store - Pick a Brick]]\\ [[http://shop.lego.com/en-US/Power-Functions-ByCategory | Lego Store - Power Functions Shop]]\\ [[https://www.bricklink.com/store.asp?p=twoninerken | Bricklink - Short on Bricks]]\\ [[https://www.bricklink.com/store.asp?p=otaviomoser | Bricklink - NEXUS GM Brick Store]]\\ [[https://www.bricklink.com/store.asp?p=antwerpgirl | Bricklink - Black Swamp Bricks]]\\ [[http://www.ebay.com/usr/burnhamh?_trksid=p2047675.l2559 | Ebay - Burnhamh]]\\ [[http://www.ebay.com/usr/i_love_cheap_stuff?_trksid=p2047675.l2559 | Ebay - I Love Cheap Stuff]]\\ [[http://www.ebay.com/usr/ile9os?_trksid=p2047675.l2559 | Ebay - Ile9os]]\\ ^ Part Description ^ Part # ^ Vendor ^ Price [per] ^ Qty| | Technic Axle 2 Notched | 32062 | Pick a Brick | $0.10 [1] | 4 | | Technic Axle 3 | 4519 | Pick a Brick | $0.10 [1] | 1 | | Technic Axle Pin | 3749 | Pick a Brick | $0.10 [1] | 18 | | Technic Axle Joiner Inline Smooth | 59443 | Short on Bricks | $0.02 [1] | 4 | | Technic Pin With Friction | 4459 | Pick a Brick | $0.10 [1] | 37 | | Technic Pin Long | 32556 | Pick a Brick | $0.15 [1] | 5 | | Technic Pin Long with Friction | 6558 | Pick a Brick | $0.25 [1] | 10 | | Technic Pin Long with Stop Bush | 32054 | Pick a Brick | $0.03 [1] | 1 | | Technic Cross Block 1 x 2 (axle/pin) | 6536 | Pick a Brick | $0.15 [1] | 4 | | Technic Brick 1 x 4 With Holes | 3701 | NEXUS GM Brick Store| $0.05 [1] | 4 | | Technic Brick 1 x 6 with Holes | 3894 | NEXUS GM Brick Store| $0.16 [1] | 2 | | Technic Brick 1 x 14 with holes | 32018 | NEXUS GM Brick Store| $0.67 [1] | 7 | | Technic Bush with Two Flanges | 3713 | NEXUS GM Brick Store| $0.03 [1] | 1 | | Technic Beam 3 | 32523 | Burnhamh | $8.00 [Beam Lot] | 1 | | Technic Beam 5 | 32316 | Burnhamh | $8.00 [Beam Lot] | 4 | | Technic Beam 5 x 0.5 | 32017 | NEXUS GM Brick Store| $0.25 [1] | 2 | | Technic Beam 7 | 32524 | Burnhamh | $8.00 [Beam Lot] | 5 | | Technic Beam 7 x 5 with Open Center 5 x 3| 64179 | I Love Cheap Stuff | $10.00 [4] | 2 | | Technic Beam 3 x 3 x 0.5 | 32056 | Burnhamh | $5.00 [25] | 12 | | Technic Plate 2 x 6 with Holes | 32001 | NEXUS GM Brick Store| $0.10 [1] | 1 | | Technic Pulley Wheel 5D | 3736 | NEXUS GM Brick Store| $1.13 [1] | 1 | | Technic Pneumatic Pump 2 x 2 x 5 | 2797c02 | NEXUS GM Brick Store| $9.00 [1] | 1 | | Technic Pneumatic Air Tank | 58120 | NEXUS GM Brick Store| $14.90 [1] | 1 | | Technic Pneumatic Valve with Pegholes | 47223b | Ile9os | $13.00 [4] | 5 | | Technic Pneumatic Cylinder | 47224c01 | Ile9os | $38.00 [4] | 3 | | Technic Pneumatic T-Piece | 4697b | Pick a Brick | $0.10 [1] | 3 | | Pneumatic Hose - Various Length | 5102 | Ile9os |Included with Valve| 1 | | Electric Power Functions M Motor | 8883 | Power Functions Shop| $7.49 [1] | 1 | | Electric Power Functions Battery Box | 88000 | Power Functions Shop| $12.99 [1] | 1 | | Minifigure Hand | 983 | Black Swamp Bricks | $0.05 [1] | 2 | ---- **Tutorials:**\\ * [[tutorial_II | Tutorial I: Pneumatic Cylinder With One Switch]] * [[tutorial_III | Tutorial II: Pneumatic Cylinder With Two Switches]] * [[tutorial_IV | Tutorial III: Motorized Lego Air Compressor]] * [[tutorial_V | Tutorial IV: Simple Circuit Construction]] ---- **Final Words:**\\ Upon completion of all four of these tutorials, students should have a basic understanding of how to design, construct, and derive the algebraic expressions for pneumatic circuits using legos. The use of lego pneumatics provides a lot of advantages to the world of prototyping. Students can prototype circuits using lego components before making large, potentially costly changes to more permanent hardware.\\ \\ For any questions or comments, please e-mail me at Tredupj@unlv.nevada.edu