The Complete Book of Airpot - Airpot - #4

develops an opposing force to limit this velocity to a desired value.

In laser equipment (as shown below left), a push damp Airpot controls a mirror as it swings into position. The Airpot damping increases as the mir­ror approaches a stop, allowing rapid positive positioning without loud noise or impact damage.

In automatic mailing and addressing equipment it regulates the positioning mechanisms and feed roller pressure.

In spring loaded doors, x-y slides, and tape cartridge carriers it

prevents damage on release.

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Poppet and check valves can naturally resonate, causing unwanted noise, pressure/flow fluctuations, or wear. These problems can be eliminated by precise damping.

In pneumatic valves (as shown above), an Airpot reduces the amplitude of oscillation without affecting the cracking pressure or positioning of the poppet. With Airpot's low mass, virtu­ally frictionless motion, and minimal air spring at low forces, the steady-state positioning of the poppet is essentially unaffected by the dashpot.

In a vacuum regulator it improves regulation and eliminates noise caused by the oscillating poppet striking the valve seat.

In a patient ventilator it damps the check valve to eliminate downstream pressure fluctuations.

It is often desirable to slow a solenoid down to avoid a crash or high impact on closure. The Airpot tunes the solenoid to obtain the fastest motion possible without noisy impact or damage to components.

(as shown above) a pull damping Airpot controls a solenoid which posi­tions the grippers. The Airpot significantly reduces gripper impact.

it controls the travel of solenoid actuated dispensers and positioners as samples move from one station to another.

In silicon wafer transport mech­anisms it prevents bounce and overshoot as solenoids lift wafers into position.

Dashpot damping is one of the simplest ways of eliminating vibration. The Airpot dashpot excels in provid­ing a high ratio of damping-to-friction force.

In magnetic tape duplicators (as

shown above), a two-way damping Airpot significantly reduces idler arm vibration caused by stiction or take-up drive pulsation. The idler can still move freely to accommodate changes in the loop profile. Using an Airpot also improves the response during start-up acceleration.

In high speed fiber optic filament, wire, and textile winders, an Airpot is ideal where oscillation of tension idlers can cause broken filaments.

Springs provide motive force to a mass at the expense of continuously increasing velocity. Airpot damping

Many instruments are susceptible to random pulses and surges, which can lead to harmful, over-range conditions.