Pneumatic Piston
As a project for an Into to Machining course at George Brown College, I was tasked with machining parts for a Pneumatic Piston. This included using a mill, drill press, and a lathe while learning to read engineering drawings and BOMs. The piston is driven through a small hole in the base, using compressed air to change the pressure of the chamber, ultimately driving the flywheel output.
Instruction
In class, we were taught how to use the machines and given drawings - nothing else. It was my job to learn how to read measurements and translate them to the cylindrical piece of aluminum that was handed to me. I learned about the different speeds different materials needed to get a clean cut, and different tools used to obtain different finishes.
Tolerance
Throughout this process, I learned the importance of measuring twice and cutting once – one is reversible, and the other is not. In the picture to the left, I did end up overshooting the flat milling of the chamber, but since the specific cut was just decoration, it did not affect the performance of the piston. Had I accidentally cut into the chamber, I would have had to restart the whole part.
Assembly
As the final test, I had to assemble the piston and test for high speed using compressed air. While testing, my piston had a bit of rotational friction when it was fully extended, suggesting some misalignment in machining. But with some lube, the piston functioned at full speed.
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I thoroughly enjoyed this project as I enjoy manufacturing and design, and it was great to see an assembly come to life from start to finish.
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P.S. If you look closely, you can see the little divet I made in the design cut on the front of the piston chamber!
