PROPNEU AN INTELLIGENT SOFTWARE TOOL

Hong Zhou, Ph. D. Festo AG & Co. Ruiterstr. 82, D-73734 Esslingen, Germany Email: ZOU@FESTO.COM

ABSTRACT
This paper deals with a software tool Propneu. In practice, the design of a pneumatic system often starts with knowing the required performance of the system. A design engineer then needs to know which components can generate this required performance. Propneu helps him to do it. After a pneumatic system is composed, Propneu can then predict the dynamic behavior and optimize the settings of the components.

Today more and more simulation tools are therefore put into use. Many simulation tools require the user to design the complete system. Simulation takes place only after all the components of the system have been selected. Such software tools are helpful for users to find out the performances of his system before the machine is actually set up. However in practice, the design of a pneumatic system often starts with knowing the required performances of the system. For instance, in order to reach a given machine cycle time, the pneumatic sub-system must finish its actions within a required period of time. The design engineer then would like to know which components can generate this required performance. For these cases we therefore need a software tool which not only simulates the system but also helps the design engineer to select the right components. And thats exactly what the software tool Propneu does! Propneu makes it possible to select pneumatic components while having only limited information about the application. Propneu uses a mathematical model composed of dynamic differential equations and static equations is set up. It uses a database which contains the technical data of the pneumatic components. Two factors are taken into account when deriving the model: the model should be accurate enough to describe a real system and at the same time the calculating time should be as short as possible. Just a little example: the system consists of:a doubleacting cylinder with 25 mm piston diameter, 500 mm length, controlled by a one-way flow control valve type GRLA-1/8-RS-B and a JMYH-5/2-M5-L-LED solenoid valve. The mass load is 10 kg, 6 bar pressure supply. The flow control valve is adjusted so that the positioning time is 1.06 s. With a 240 MHz PC, simulating and calculating this system takes only 0.06 seconds! Compared with

KEYWORDS

Dynamic simulation, selection, parameter optimization, database

component

INTRODUCTION
With the rapid development of automation industry, it becomes very important to rapidly design automation systems with: shortest machine cycle time optimum machine functions minimal machine costs compact machine space

To meet these demands, the selection of pneumatic components used must be optimized. Traditionally, the design of a pneumatic automation system was mainly based on the experience of a design engineer. Or components were selected based on the rule of thumb that pneumatic cylinders, valves and piping should all have the same connection size. This method often resulted in over-dimensioning, sometimes even under-dimensioning. Over- dimensioning a pneumatic system results in big machine components, increased costs and air consumption. With under- dimensioning, the positioning time of cylinders will be too long. An efficient way to avoid these problems is by simulation, that is, to predict the behaviors of the pneumatic system without the need of actually connecting components.

common simulation software, Propneu is thus more than 20 times faster.

THE INTERFACES FOR PARAMETER INPUT

There are essential variables in the mathematical model that define the application. These variables should be input by the user. Several user friendly configuration windows have been created to enter these data. Fig. 1 shows the first window, in which a user can input parameters such as:

Making a plausibility check of the input data Checking whether the desired performance is reachable at all. A warning message as in Fig. 3 will appear, e.g. if the desired positioning time is not obtainable. Calculating the required cylinder diameter. The cylinder must output enough force to cope with mass load, friction and external force loads, and must also provide enough acceleration so that the desired positioning time can be reached.

Fig. 2 A pneumatic circuit with and without a one-way flow control valve Fig. 1 The first parameter window of Propneu The desired positioning time The decision whether a one-way flow control valve is to be included in the circuit (Fig. 2) The direction of the movement (cylinder is extending or retracting) The required stroke length The angle of installation The number of simultaneously moving cylinders. This allows the user to design a circuit, in which a solenoid valve controls more than one cylinder. The system pressure The tubing lengths The moving mass The external force load The additional friction: The friction caused by the mechanical parts installed by the user, while cylinder friction is already taken into account.

Fig. 3 Warning when the desired positioning time is not obtainable After the user has input these data, Propneu displays the next window for selecting a cylinder (or cylinder type). Of course, only cylinders that are suitable for the application are listed in the window (Fig. 4).

Propneu always executes a series of calculations, whenever the user changes the input data. The calculations have the following functions:

Fig. 6 The position and speed diagrams

Fig. 4 The window for selecting a cylinder After the user has selected a cylinder, Propneu gives recommendations on the types of solenoid valve, the oneway flow control valve, the tubing diameters and fittings that should be used. Propneu then proposes an initial design of the pneumatic system. (see Fig. 5).

Fig. 7 Acceleration and pressure diagrams

OPTIMIZATION OF THE AUTOMATION SYSTEM

We should keep in mind that the Propneu recommendation is only one of all possible solutions. If the user is not satisfied with the simulation results, Propneu will help him actively to optimize his automation system. Fig. 5 The pneumatic circuit with the components recommended by Propneu If the user wants to check the dynamic behaviors of his system, he can click on the Simulation button, and the dynamic simulation is started. Information such as positioning time, maximum and average speed, air consumption, impact velocity and impact energy will then be displayed (Figs. 5, 6 and 7). For instance, if the user wants to reduce the positioning time of the system, it is sometimes difficult to determine which component creates the restriction affecting the circuit. Propneu compares the flow rates of the individual components and indicates the component that creates the bottleneck (see Fig. 8).

Fig. 9 Propneu gives recommendations if the kinetic energy at an end position is too high Fig. 8 Indication of critical flow rates When a cylinder impacts on the end position, it is important to check the remaining kinetic energy. If the impact energy is too high, the service life of the cylinder will be reduced or serious damage may occur. Propneu checks whether the permissible kinetic impact energy has been exceeded by means of the following formula: With the help of the Propneu system, the user thus arrives at the best solution for his individual application. The results appear in a simulation report including graphics, tables etc. as shown in Fig. 10.

J=
where J m v Jpermissible

1 m v 2 J permissible 2

the actual kinetic impact energy the moving mass the speed when the cylinder reaches its end position the maximum permissible kinetic impact energy of the cylinder

If the kinetic energy is larger than Jpermissible, Propneu will give a warning and suggest the user either to reduce the cylinder speed or to select another cylinder (Fig. 9) e.g. a cylinder with pneumatic end position cushioning or hydraulic shock absorbers. When using pneumatic cushioning, Propneu optimizes the setting of the adjustable end position cushioning so that the remaining kinetic energy of the cylinder is minimized. Propneu also automatically optimizes the setting of the flow control valves so that the positioning time is exactly as the user wishes. Sometimes the user may want to make the cylinder travel time as short as possible, as long as the permissible kinetic energy is not exceeded. Propneu finds the maximum permissible setting of the flow control valve by means of an optimization algorithm.

Fig. 10 The simulation report of Propneu

REFERENCES
[1] Stoll, Kurt, What is Pneumatics? Thesis, University of Stuttgart, 1958 [2] Hong Zhou, Study of Electro-Pneumatic Proportional-Servo System and its Control Strategies, Doctoral Thesis, Zhejiang University, May 1988

[3]Werner Deppert, Kurt Stoll, Cutting Costs with Pneumatics, 1988, ISBN 7-111-074564, in 14 Languages (including Chinese)