Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Requires completion of lab-based homework, using PCC's lab equipment, outside of scheduled class sessions.  Students should plan for approximately 2 hours per week on average and will be able to reserve time during open lab hours.  The hours that lab will be available for this purpose will be visible for students in schedule notes and/or through other effective means at registration time. 

Upon completion of the course students should be able to:

• Recognize pneumatic hazards and take appropriate measures to protect against them.
• Operate pneumatically-driven robots to perform automatic material handling tasks.
• Perform alignment of pneumatically actuated robot arms.
• Troubleshoot pneumatic system faults following a systematic methodology using schematics and knowledge of major components.

The course will include instructor delivered lectures and demonstrations stressing key topics in the course. In preparation for the lecture portion of the course, students will be expected to complete all reading and homework assignments.

The laboratory portion of the course will include laboratory activities. The purpose of the laboratory activities is to understand the construction and operation of pneumatic devices and circuits.  Students may develop skills in analysis and troubleshooting, skills in teamwork, and skills in oral and written communication.

Assessment of student performance in this course will be in the form of written and/or practice-based questions. Some formal reports and presentations may also be required.

2.      Safety

a.      OSHA and its Role

b.      Safe Dress

c.       PPE – Personal Protective Equipment

d.      Mechanical Transmission Safety

e.      Pneumatic Safety

f.        Machine Guarding

g.      LOTO – Lock Out Tag Out

3.      Lab Activities:

a.      Familiarization with Simulation Software

b.      Pneumatic Trainers

1.      Complex Mechatronics Systems  

a.      Systems Approach

b.      System Block Diagram

c.       Measuring Concepts

2.      Lab Activity: Reverse Engineering Simple Pneumatic Parts

3.      Introduction to Fluid Power Systems

a.      Description of Fluid Power and Pneumatic Systems

b.      Advantages and Disadvantages of Hydraulic and Pneumatic Systems

4.      Lab Activity: Pneumatic System Observation

1.      Behavior of Fluids I

a.      Review Systems Approach

b.      Relation of Simple Machines to Fluid Power Systems

c.       Basic Principles of Heat Transfer

d.      Difference Between Laminar and Turbulent Flow

e.      Pascal’s Law and Pressure Measurements in Fluids

2.      Lab Activity: Block Diagram Composition

3.      Behavior of Fluids II

a.      Boyle’s Law

b.      Archimedes’ Principle

c.       Bernoulli’s Theorem

d.      General Gas Law

e.      Viscosity

4.      Lab Activity: Behavior of Fluids

1.      Fluid Power Standards

a.      Block Diagrams of Energy, Mass, and Material

b.      Reasons for Standardization

c.       Types of Fluid Power Standards Organizations

2.      Lab Activity: Creating Block Diagrams of Fluid Power Circuits

3.      Fluid Power Symbols

a.      Symbols

b.      Creating Fluid Power Circuit Diagrams

4.      Lab Activity: Identifying Fluid Power Components and Function and Creating Circuit Drawings.

1.      General Fluid Power System Components, Structure, and Operation

a.      Generation and Distribution

b.      Valves

c.       Processors

d.      Power

e.      Systems

2.      Lab Activity: General Fluid Power System Components

3.      Compressed Air and Its Conditioning and Distribution

a.      Review of Safety Issues

b.      Composition of Atmospheric Air

c.       “Conditioning” of Compressed Air

d.      General Principles of Compression and Expansion

e.      Air’s Reaction to Temperature, Pressure, and Volume

4.      Lab Activity: Compressed Air

3.      Air Compressors

a.      Operation of Air Compressors

b.      Limiting Maximum Air Pressure in a System

c.       Troubleshooting Air Compressor Problems

4.      Lab Activity: Air Compressors

3.      Air Distribution

a.      Air Filtration, Regulation, and Lubrication at the Machine

b.      Pneumatic System Conductors and Fittings

c.       Manufacturer Specifications

4.      Lab Activity: Air Distribution

1.      Pneumatic Actuators

a.      Cylinders

b.      Motors

c.       Miscellaneous Air-Driven Equipment

2.      Lab Activity: Pneumatic Actuators

3.      Pneumatic Motors and Pneumatic Air Tools

a.      Types of Fluid Power Motors

b.      Troubleshooting  Fluid Power Motors

c.       Motor or Air Tool Selection

d.      Using Specifications to Gather Information

4.      Lab Activity: Pneumatic Motors and Pneumatic Air Tools

1.      Controlling System Pressure

a.      Relief Valves

b.      Safety Valves

c.       Pressure Regulators

d.      Pressure Switches

e.      Sequence Control

f.        Restrained Movement Control

g.      Unloading Control

h.      Reduced Pressure Control

2.      Lab Activity: Controlling System Pressure

3.      Controlling  System Pressure - Continued

a.      Pressure Control Valve Specifications

b.      Pressure Control Valve Troubleshooting

4.      Lab Activity: Controlling System Pressure

1.      Controlling Direction in a Fluid System

a.      Design and Operation of Control Valves

b.      Controlling Direction

2.      Lab Activity: Controlling Direction

3.      Controlling Direction – Continued

a.      Directional Control Valve Specs and Sizing

b.      Directional Control Valve Troubleshooting

4.      Lab Activity: Controlling Direction

1.      Controlling Flow:

a.      Design and Operation of Flow Control Vales

b.      Design of Flow Control Circuits

c.       Flow Control: Orifice Characteristics

d.      Non-compensated Flow Control Valves

e.      Compensated Flow Control Valves

f.        Bypass Flow Control Valves

g.      Flow Divider Valves

2.      Lab Activity: Controlling Flow

3.      Controlling Flow – Continued

a.      Pneumatic Special Purpose Control Valves and Other Devices

b.      Flow Control Valve Specs and Sizing

c.       Flow Control Valve Troubleshooting 

4.      Lab Activity: Controlling Flow

1.      Accumulators

a.      Safety Requirements

b.      Basic Design, Operation, and Characteristics of Accumulators

c.       Testing Accumulators in a Circuit

2.      Lab Activity: Accumulators

3.      Accumulators – Continued

a.      Sizing and Selecting Accumulators using Spec Sheets

b.      Sizing Accumulator using Manufacturer’s Software

c.       Troubleshooting Accumulators

4.      Lab Activity: Accumulators    

1.      Pneumatic Circuit Basics

a.      Pressure Control Circuits

b.      Speed Control Circuits

c.       Direction Control Circuits

3.      Pneumatic Motion Control Circuits

a.      Quick Exhaust valves

b.      Safety Circuits

c.       Troubleshooting