NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN PNEUMATICS
Dr. Kurt Stoll
Festo AG & Co., Ruiterstr. 82, D-73734 Esslingen, Germany
ABSTRACT
This paper dealt with the new developments of
pneumatics in the following areas:
• Pneumatic components
• Industry segment specialized applications
• Best before-sales and after-sales services
KEYWORDS: Developments, Pneumatic drive,
Servo control, Field-bus, valve terminal, modular
systems, dynamic simulation, database
INTRODUCTION
Pneumatics were first utilised at the beginning of the
fifties. Fig. 1 shows a device built in 1955, which was
fitted with single-acting aluminium die cast cylinders. A
typical pneumatic system of that time was used in this
device; it consisted of cylinders and manually operated
valves. An operator played the roll of a “logic controller”.
Fig. 1 An early pneumatic system
Fig. 2 A purely pneumatic sequence controller with 12
inputs and 12 outputs
Over the past 50 years, with the rapid developments in
science and technologies, especially in automation,
mechanical, electronic and computer technologies,
pneumatics has been experiencing a quick expansion and
development. Take automation sequence controllers as an
example, the first pneumatic control systems functioned
via valves that were actuated by driven camshafts. In the
seventies many purely pneumatically actuated sequence
controllers such as the QUICKSTEPPER (Fig. 2), which

All this resulted in the combination of pneumatics,
electronics and mechanics.
By combining pneumatics with mechanics, customers will
not only save engineering time with regard to designing
and testing, but also receive an optimised solution because
the product they receive is proven and tested by the
pneumatics manufacturer.
Fig. 3 shows a swivelling/linear unit, in which a linear
cylinder is combined with a rotary drive to get
independent linear and rotational movements.
Fig. 3 A swivelling/linear unit
Fig. 4 shows pneumatic units used in an assembling
system. This includes a linear and rotary cylinder
combined with a high precision guide unit. Excellent
precision and rigidity can be achieved with this
combination of components.
The “valve terminal” concept was introduced at the
beginning of the nineties. In recent years valve terminals
have been widely used. The origin of such a product is to
meet the demands of the larger scale control system. In a
valve terminal, the valves and electronic I/Os are
integrated in accordance with specific user interfaces (Fig.
5). Customers can order a valve terminal according to the
specification of their application. They will get a complete
factory
Fig.4 Pneumatic units with several precision
mechanical parts
pre-assembled and pre-tested unit. They can link the valve
terminal to a PLC or IPC via the desired interface, such as
multipin or fieldbus. They can even order a valve terminal

In many applications, a pneumatic control valve is to be
mounted together with some moving parts of the machine.
In this case, the valve should be as light and as small as
possible. On the other hand, in order to shorten machine
cycle time, the control valves should be installed as close
to the cylinder as possible.
Fig. 8 provides a direct comparison of a solenoid valve
made in 1961 with one made in 1997, both valves have
the same flow rate (400 l/min) but the new generation of
solenoid valve is only 10 mm in width, while the old type
is 40 mm.
Fig.8 In comparison, valves of 1961 and 1997, the
same flow rate, but a quarter of the width
o More intelligence is integrated into products.
Faster movement is often desired on a machine. It is not
difficult to get a cylinder to move faster. But it is more
difficult to stop a fast moving cylinder properly (without
vibrations or shocks).
Fig. 9 shows a soft-stop cylinder, in which a displacement
sensor, a 5/3 dynamic proportional valve and a smart
controller are included. With such a system, the time
taken for the cylinder to travel from one end position to
the other can be reduced by 30%. In addition, 2 freely
selectable intermediate position settings are possible.
Fig.9 Fast speed and soft stop
Fig. 10 shows a pneumatic servo positioning system. A
digital smart controller is employed in such a system.
Fig.10 Smart pneumatic positioning axes
The controller is robust and suitable for industrial
applications. Built-in intelligence enables it to find the

Fig. 13 A modular air service unit with manual on-off
valve, compressed air filter and regulator,
lubricator, soft-start valve, distributor and
pressure switch
Fig. 14 Fluidic muscle and some typical applications
It is well known that with a pneumatic cylinder it is very
difficult to achieve slow movement without the stick-slip
effect. To overcome this disadvantage electrically driven
cylinders of the same size and with the same installation
interfaces as standard pneumatic cylinders have been
developed and applied in applications. Customers don’t
need to make mechanical modifications to their machines.
TRENDS REGARDING APPLICATIONS
With regard to pneumatic applications, one of the most
important tasks today is to develop more and more
specialized products for the various industry segments.
Fig. 15 Pneumatic components for the food and packing
industry
Fig. 15 shows cylinders and valves that have been
specially developed for the food and packaging industry,
where high corrosion resistance and ease of cleaning are
essential.
The electronics and handling and assembly industry also
need pneumatic products that can meet special
requirements. Fig 4 shows some precisely guided
pneumatic drives with very high rigidity that are suitable
for use in the handling and assembling industry. Fig. 16
shows some miniature precisely guided pneumatic
actuators that suit the applications in the electronics
industry.