State at least four advantages and disadvantages of pneumatic systems.
Pneumatic system Advantages Disadvantages
Pneumatic system Advantages Disadvantages are given in details below.
Pneumatic system Advantages
1) Infinite availability of the source
Air being freely and easily available everywhere there is no scarcity of the source. Just need some filtration for its use in the pneumatic system. As compared to the Hydraulic oil it is very cheap.
2) Safe and clean
As compared to hydraulic and other systems air is very safe and clean in operation. Food industry, pharmaceuticals industry ect. prefer pneumatic system over other because leakage of air doesn't causes any issues. The system is relatively clean , no dirt accumulates due to oil leakage like in hydraulic system.
3) Less Operating and Maintenance cost
Pneumatic system operates with very less resources and is easy to maintain.
4) The transfer of power and the speed is very easy to set up .
The speed and power is controlled by pressure and flow of air, which can be easily controlled by knobbed controls. Just varying the pressure changes the force and varying air flow changes the speed of the actuator.
5) Can be stored and Easy utilized .
Compressed air can be easily stored in a reservoir tank. It retains its pressure over long time. Also it is harmless even it leakages.
Pneumatic System Disadvantages
1) Requires installation of air-producing equipment
Every pneumatic system needs constent supply of compressed air, which is produced by a compressor.
2) Can easily leak
Leakage of air is one of the main issue in pneumatic system. Air can easily leak from the joints and threadings.
3) Potential noise
Exhausting air produces large noise as compared to other power transmitting systems.
4) Low operating pressure
As compared to Hydraulic system where the pressure above 500 bar is possible to produce, pneumatic system max pressure is limited in most cases to 10-20 bar. Hence very heavy work can not be done with pneumatic system.
6) Compressibility of air causes problems in precision
As compared to hydrualic system working medium, which is oil, air is compressible. Hence very precise motions and movements are not possible.
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Additional information on Comparison of various systems of Power transmission
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LINKS to other similar pages
Hydraulics and Pneumatics system advantages