this post was submitted on 26 Sep 2023
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chapotraphouse
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Mechanical (?) computers sound very cool. So it like directs flow in a way that resembles binary?
There's still actual solenoid valves controlling the flow (acting as the logic gates), the voids you see in these transmissions are the paths the fluid takes, same as traces on a circuit board or chip.
That’s really cool, thanks for the explanation.
It's not nearly as interesting as the pneumatic computer stuff, but on the EDM machines I use at work, there is a lot of pneumatic robotics going on due in part to the presence of water and the fact that significant portions of the machine are electrically charged under regular operation. There is a bank of something like 20 solenoids at the back of the machine with a bunch of airline tubes running to various linear actuators all over the place to open / shut valves, or rotate components using rack and pinion mechanisms while the whole assembly is both wet and electrically charged. There are very few electronic motors on the thing aside from the main servos and pulleys..
This is all controlled electronically by the CNC controller and various circuit boards, but theoretically similar mechanisms could be driven directly by outputs from a pneumatic computer.
That sounds gorgeous. Wire EDM? EDM is wizardry. I've watched videos but it still just seems magic. love machines so much.
Air muscles are another really neat mechanical construct.