Pneumatics#Comparison to Hydraulics

File:A solenoid actuated pneumatic butterfly valve.jpg

Pneumatic systems in fixed installations, such as factories, use compressed air because a sustainable supply can be made by compressing atmospheric air.{{Cite web |last=Swedberg |first=Tim |date=2019-10-04 |title=Different Types of Pneumatic System Components |url=https://jhfoster.com/automation-blogs/pneumatic-system-components/ |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=JHFOSTER |language=en-US}} The air usually has moisture removed, and a small quantity of oil is added at the compressor to prevent corrosion and lubricate mechanical components.

Factory-plumbed pneumatic-power users need not worry about poisonous leakage, as the gas is usually just air. Any compressed gas other than air is an asphyxiation hazard—including nitrogen, which makes up 78% of air. Compressed oxygen (approx. 21% of air) would not asphyxiate, but is not used in pneumatically-powered devices because it is a fire hazard, more expensive, and offers no performance advantage over air. Smaller or stand-alone systems can use other compressed gases that present an asphyxiation hazard, such as nitrogen—often referred to as OFN (oxygen-free nitrogen) when supplied in cylinders.

Portable pneumatic tools and small vehicles, such as Robot Wars machines and other hobbyist applications are often powered by compressed carbon dioxide, because containers designed to hold it such as SodaStream canisters and fire extinguishers are readily available, and the phase change between liquid and gas makes it possible to obtain a larger volume of compressed gas from a lighter container than compressed air requires. Carbon dioxide is an asphyxiant and can be a freezing hazard if vented improperly.

Although the early history of pneumatics is somewhat unclear, blowguns are often considered the earliest pneumatic device, being created independently by various indigenous groups around the world. Bellows are an early form of air compressor used primarily for smelting and forging. Ctesibius of Alexandria is often considered the father of pneumatics, "who worked in the early 3rd century BCE and invented a number of mechanical toys operated by air, water, and steam under pressure." Though no documents written by Ctesibius survive, he is thought to have heavily influenced Philo of Byzantium while writing his work, Mechanical Syntaxis, as well as Vitruvius in {{lang|la|De architectura}}.{{cite book |last1=Berryman |first1=Sylvia |title=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Classics |chapter=pneumatics |chapter-url=https://oxfordre.com/classics/abstract/10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.001.0001/acrefore-9780199381135-e-5146 |doi-access=free |series=Oxford Classical Dictionary |date=25 January 2019 |orig-date=7 March 2016 |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.013.5146 |isbn=978-0-19-938113-5 |access-date=29 November 2023 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240514202004/https://oxfordre.com/classics/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.001.0001/acrefore-9780199381135-e-5146?print=pdf |archive-date= 14 May 2024 }} In the first century BC, the ancient Greek mathematician Hero of Alexandria compiled recipes for dozens of contraptions in his work, Pneumatics. It has been speculated that much of this work can be attributed to Ctesibius.{{cite book |last1=Hero, of Alexandria |title=The pneumatics of Hero of Alexandria, from the original Greek. |date=1851 |publisher=Taylor Walton and Maberly |location=London |page=xv |url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/rbc0001.2009gen41532 |access-date=29 November 2023 |archive-date=12 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231212183306/https://www.loc.gov/resource/rbc0001.2009gen41532 |url-status=live }} The pneumatic experiments described in these ancient documents later inspired the Renaissance inventors of the thermoscope and the air thermometer, devices which relied upon the heating and cooling of air to move a column of water up and down a tube.{{Cite book |last=Middleton |first=W. E. K. |url=http://archive.org/details/thermometer0000unse |title=A history of the thermometer and its use in meteorology |publisher=Johns Hopkins Press |others=Internet Archive |year=1966|isbn=9780801871535 }}{{rp|4–5}}

German physicist Otto von Guericke (1602-1686) invented the vacuum pump, a device that can draw out air or gas from the attached vessel. He demonstrated the vacuum pump to separate the pairs of copper hemispheres using air pressures. The field of pneumatics has changed considerably over the years. It has moved from small handheld devices to large machines with multiple parts that serve different functions.

Both pneumatics and hydraulics are applications of fluid power. Pneumatics uses an easily compressible gas such as air or a suitable pure gas—while hydraulics uses relatively incompressible liquid media such as oil. Most industrial pneumatic applications use pressures of about {{Convert|80|to|100|psi|kPa|lk=on}}. Hydraulics applications commonly use from {{Convert|1000|to|5000|psi|MPa|abbr=on}}, but specialized applications may exceed {{Convert|50000|psi|MPa|abbr=on}}.{{Cite web |last=Simmons |first=Brandon |title=What are the Different Purposes for Each Level of Hydraulic Pressure? |url=https://blog.mensor.com/blog/what-are-the-different-purposes-for-each-level-of-hydraulic-pressure#:~:text=Hydraulic%20systems%20can%20be%20used,the%20calibration%20of%20your%20devices. |access-date=2 January 2025 |website=blog.mensor.com |language=en-us |archive-date=30 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230530075153/https://blog.mensor.com/blog/what-are-the-different-purposes-for-each-level-of-hydraulic-pressure#:~:text=Hydraulic%20systems%20can%20be%20used,the%20calibration%20of%20your%20devices. |url-status=live }}

• Simplicity of design and control—Machines are easily designed using standard cylinders and other components, and operate via simple on-off control.
• Reliability—Pneumatic systems generally have long operating lives and require little maintenance. Because gas is compressible, equipment is less subject to shock damage. Gas absorbs excessive force, whereas fluid in hydraulics directly transfers force. Compressed gas can be stored, so machines still run for a while if electrical power is lost.
• Safety—There is a very low chance of fire compared to hydraulic oil. New machines are usually overload safe to a certain limit.

• Fluid does not absorb any of the supplied energy.
• Capable of moving much higher loads and providing much lower forces due to the incompressibility.
• The hydraulic working fluid is practically incompressible, leading to a minimum of spring action. When hydraulic fluid flow is stopped, the slightest motion of the load releases the pressure on the load; there is no need to "bleed off" pressurized air to release the pressure on the load.
• Highly responsive compared to pneumatics.
• Supply more power than pneumatics.
• Can also do many purposes at one time: lubrication, cooling and power transmission.

{{Further|Pneumatic circuit}}

Pneumatic logic systems (sometimes called air logic control) are sometimes used for controlling industrial processes, consisting of primary logic units like:

• And units
• Or units
• Relay or booster units
• Latching units
• Timer units
• Fluidics amplifiers with no moving parts other than the air itself

Pneumatic logic is a reliable and functional control method for industrial processes. In recent years, these systems have largely been replaced by electronic control systems in new installations because of the smaller size, lower cost, greater precision, and more powerful features of digital controls. Pneumatic devices are still used where upgrade cost, or safety factors dominate.{{cite web|last=KMC Controls|title=Pneumatic to Digital: Open System Conversions|url=http://www.kmccontrols.com/images/agiods_files/downloads/Pneumatics_Digital_Conversion_White_Paper.pdf|access-date=5 October 2015|archive-date=29 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170329090623/http://www.kmccontrols.com/images/agiods_files/downloads/Pneumatics_Digital_Conversion_White_Paper.pdf|url-status=live}}

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• Air brakes on buses and trucks
• Air brakes on trains
• Air compressors
• Air engines for pneumatically powered vehicles
• Barostat systems used in neurogastroenterology and for researching electricity
• Cable jetting, a way to install cables in ducts
• Dental drill
• Compressed-air engine and compressed-air vehicles
• Gas Chromatography
• Gas-operated reloading
• Holman Projector, a pneumatic anti-aircraft weapon
• HVAC control systems
• Inflatable structures
• Lego pneumatics can be used to build pneumatic models
• Pipe organ
• Electro-pneumatic action
• Tubular-pneumatic action
• Player piano
• Pneumatic actuator
• Pneumatic air guns
• Pneumatic bladder
• Pneumatic cylinder
• Pneumatic launchers, a type of spud gun
• Pneumatic mail systems
• Pneumatic motor
• Pneumatic tire
• Pneumatic tools:
• Jackhammer used by road workers
• Pneumatic nailgun
• Pressure regulator
• Pressure sensor
• Pressure switch
• Launched roller coaster
• Vacuum pump
• Vacuum sewer

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• Compressed air
• Ozone cracking – can affect pneumatic seals

• Pneudraulics
• History of pneumatic power

{{Reflist}}

• Brian S. Elliott, Compressed Air Operations Manual, McGraw Hill Book Company, 2006, {{ISBN|0-07-147526-5}}.
• Heeresh Mistry, Fundamentals of Pneumatic Engineering, Create Space e-Publication, 2013, {{ISBN|1-49-372758-3}}.

{{Wiktionary}}

• [http://www.designworldonline.com/articles/5265/203/Four-Ways-to-Boost-Pneumatic-Efficiency.aspx Four Ways to Boost Pneumatic Efficiency]

{{Railway brakes}}

{{Authority control}}