In the World of Innovation, we learn how mining has evolved from the days of the California Gold Rush to harvesting the precious metals found inside our electronic scrap and how electronics recycling helps our environment.
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[post_content] => An estimated 1 in 9 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, the second leading cause of cancer-related death in men in the U.S. The American Cancer Society estimates that there were 192,000 new cases last year, 33,000 of which will be fatal. The most effective way to survive prostate cancer is early treatment, which engineers made more accurate and efficient with pneumatics. While taking biopsies, surgeons currently use ultrasound to image the prostate and an MRI to detect and target the most aggressive parts of the tumor sites. This means that a urologist needs to make randomized systematic biopsies using ultrasound. In order to make diagnosing prostate cancer quicker and more accurate, engineers at Soteria Medical BV wanted to design a Remote-Controlled Manipulator that could use a surgeon-controlled robot to accurately sample the suspicious areas of the prostate with a biopsy probe. This procedure takes place inside an MRI machine, allowing surgeons to watch the prostate and probe in real-time.
[caption id="attachment_13337" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Photo Credit: Hydraulics & Pneumatics[/caption]
However, metal interferes with MRIs and the robot had to fit inside the machine. The solution? Pneumatic power. Pneumatics, which is how air pressures, powers, and moves something, allows the robot to work efficiently without using metal. Furthermore, the lack of metal makes the robot small enough to fit inside of the MRI.The pneumatic actuators and controls can position and move the probe. The probe is then connected to the MRI control unit with over 20 feet of pneumatic tubing. The robot and its use of pneumatics speed up the biopsy procedure and make it more precise, resulting in lower costs and lower stress for the patient.
[post_title] => Pneumatics Makes Prostate Biopsies More Accurate
[post_excerpt] => Engineers have made prostate biopsies more accurate.
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[post_content] => Have you ever heard the term pneumatics? Even if the answer is no, many of the things you use daily involve pneumatics. Pneumatics has a rich history spanning thousands of years and will play a huge role in the future of sustainability for manufacturing.
What is Pneumatics?
In short, pneumatics is the science of using air to pressure, power and move something. By taking the energy garnered from compressed air, pneumatics converts the energy into practical use. This practical use is applied to a wide array of industries and products and can even help save the planet.
[caption id="attachment_13333" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Guernicke's demonstration of the strength of a vacuum, 1654. Photo Credit: Britannica[/caption]
Origins
Humans have recognized and used the technology behind pneumatics for thousands of years. The first discovery of a pneumatic-based device is from blow-guns in 429AD that primitive hunters used to shoot their prey. The ideas behind pneumatics were then first written down by Greek mathematician Hero of Alexandria in the first century. He wrote and described how his inventions used the wind to generate power and move objects. These inventions influenced German physicist Otto von Guericke to invent the vacuum pump in the 1600s. This pump could draw out air or gas by using air pressure.
[caption id="attachment_13334" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Beach's Pneumatic Subway, 1870 Photo Credit: NYC Subway[/caption]
The 1800s
Following Guernicke’s invention, the 1800s and the Industrial Revolution brought upon many more pneumatic inventions, particularly aiding the transportation, communication, and manufacturing industries that rapidly grew during this era. For example, the compound air compressor that compresses air in cylinders was first patented in 1892. The compressor efficiency improved in 1872 by cooling the cylinders with water jets, otherwise known as water-jacketed cylinders. More functional uses of pneumatics started in 1867 with Alfred Beach who built a pneumatic subway train in New York; the first subway in the United States. The subway used pneumatics to transport the vehicle through the underground tunnel, but it only lasted a few months after its construction in 1870. The perfection of electric multiple-unit traction and vehicles occurred shortly after this experiment, so an expanded pneumatic system was not deemed worthwhile. Furthermore, John Wanamaker introduced pneumatic tubes to the United States Post Office in 1875 to transport letters throughout the building. Soon after, department stores implemented these tubes so that cashiers could transport money and important documents around the store.
The 1900s 'Til Now
Since the invention boom of the 1800s, there has been a dramatic increase in the amount and usage of compressed air devices. After the 1960s, many of these pneumatic components were also digitally controlled. Pneumatics are almost everywhere today, from the axial flow and centrifugal compressors in jet engines to the air tool that helps clean your teeth at a dentist’s office. Most roller coasters also utilize pneumatics—the roller coaster with the fastest acceleration in the world is the only coaster in the world that uses a pneumatic air-launch system!
The Future of Pneumatics
Looking towards today and the future, pneumatics is an increasingly essential part of sustainability in manufacturing and automation. One example of this is the air recycling cylinder created by the pneumatics company SMC. A standard pneumatic actuator extends and retracts the cylinder to put air pressure on either side of the piston to move it back and forth, wasting air in both directions each time it actuates. On the other hand, SMC’s air-saving pneumatic actuator uses the same compressed air from the extend motion of the cylinder to initiate the retract motion. This uses 47% less compressed air than a standard cylinder and also cuts the air compressors’ run time, electricity, and carbon emissions in half.Using pneumatics to help curb manufacturing’s carbon footprint is the future of pneumatics. April 27, 2021 even marked the first annual National Pneumatics Day, which celebrates the responsible and sustainable use of pneumatics, which will be powering our world for years to come.
[post_title] => The History and Future of Pneumatics
[post_excerpt] => Pneumatics plays a huge role in your life.
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[post_content] => Every summer brings the excitement of roller coasters and amusement parks. From the thrills of the twists, turns, and drops of the biggest coaster in the park, to the amusement of the smaller rides and games, you’re always guaranteed a blast. But have you ever thought of the immense amount of science and engineering behind each and every feature of an amusement park? Uncover some of the secrets and innovations behind your favorite attractions.
Science Behind Roller Coasters: Pneumatics
Thanks to pneumatics, you can ride a roller coaster feeling safe and secure, even if you have never heard of the term. Pneumatics is how air pressures, powers, and moves something. Using energy garnered from compressed air, pneumatics converts energy into practical use. Pneumatics has a rich history and is essential in a wide array of industries such as manufacturing, health care, transportation, and, of course, the engineering behind roller coasters. Even before the actual ride begins, pneumatics are at work. On a typical coaster, the gates are closed when the train comes into the station for the passengers to board the ride. When the ride is ready to load, the gates simultaneously open. This is because of a pneumatic cylinder system that controls the pressure so that the gates open gently. Once you get on the ride, you may be secured by a lap bar. The release of the lap bar at the end of the ride is also enabled by a pneumatic system that works with a mechanical system to lock or release the bar when the cylinders break or complete the circuit. While most roller coasters involve pneumatics, some of your favorite rides in the world rely on pneumatics in particularly unique ways.
Secrets Behind The Attractions
[caption id="attachment_13327" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Photo Credit: Cedar Point[/caption]
Power Tower—Cedar Point
With the help of pneumatics, Cedar Point’s Power Tower has two towers that launch riders 240 feet into the air and two towers that shoot riders down from the same height. Pneumatics are at play in the cables that are attached to a pneumatic cylinder’s piston rod. The piston moves up and down with compressed air shooting the piston up through the cylinder. On the towers that launch riders into the air, the piston is at the top and the vehicle at the bottom. When pressurized, the piston shoots down and traps the air at the bottom of the cylinder, which gives the rider that bungee-cord feeling as the air is slowly released. In the towers that drop riders down the tower, the process follows the same steps but in reverse. Pneumatics is perfect for this type of ride because it can shoot vehicles up and drop them down with amazing speed, with the air cylinder’s piston acting as both a brake and a force. Hydraulic cylinders are also located at the base of the tower to provide an extra layer of safety.
[caption id="attachment_13328" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Photo Credit: Walt Disney World[/caption]
Soarin’ Around The World—Epcot
Pneumatics can also improve the overall experience of the ride, like in the Soarin’ attraction at Epcot in Disney World. On Soarin’, riders take a flight all around the world, gliding around marvels like the Great Pyramids of Egypt, the Eiffel Tower, and the Swiss Alps. A 180-degree, 80-foot IMAX digital projection dome, and a swing-like vehicle provide this visual experience. To enrich the attraction, pneumatic cylinders create the illusion of wind, speed, and a sense of launching through the air. Pneumatics helps the riders truly feel like they are soaring through the air.
[caption id="attachment_13329" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Photo Credit: Fuji-Q Highland[/caption]
Do-Dodonpa—Fuji-Q Highland Amusement Park
Unlike other roller coasters, The Do-Dodonpa coaster at Fuji-Q Highland Amusement Park in Japan is the only one in the world that uses a compressed air-launch system. To begin the ride, air shoots the coaster down a narrow tube. With help from pneumatics, the train reaches a whopping speed of 112 mph in less than two seconds. This allows it to hold the record of the world’s fastest acceleration on a coaster!
[caption id="attachment_13330" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Photo Credit: Disneyland Resort[/caption]
Splash Mountain—Disneyland and Disney World
Pneumatics can provide a win-win solution with activation and security because they can work without electricity and can withstand water. The latter is extremely important in Disney's Splash Mountain. Pneumatic brakes slow down the ride safely while also keeping the train moving through the water. Eight airbags actuate each brake pad with a valve in the middle of each airbag; as pressurized air fills the bag, they expand and touch the bottom of the train, slowing it down. This not only ensures that the ride is safe and comfortable for the riders but also prevents wear and tear on the components of the ride.
[caption id="attachment_13331" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Photo Credit: Universal Studios[/caption]
Terminator 2: 3D—Universal Studios Florida
Even though it closed down in 2017, Terminator 2: 3D attraction in Universal Studios Florida is worth noting because of its creative use of pneumatics. This attraction screened a short sequel to the blockbuster Terminator 2: Judgement Day while using pneumatics to create 4D effects. For heightened realism, three 23 x 50-ft. screens presented the film, each aligned at 60-degree angles. At one point during the show, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character rides a motorcycle straight towards the screen. At the moment when he seems to have hit the screen on the video, an explosion occurs and suddenly a live actor appears with a motorcycle in front of the crowd.Pneumatics allowed this on-screen to on-stage action to appear realistic. The explosion obscured a pneumatic cylinder lifting one screen out of view while another cylinder separated the two sides of a second screen. The separated sides enabled the live person to step through and enter the stage. Thanks to the speed of pneumatics, this mechanism appeared to occur simultaneously to the audience, making it feel completely lifelike.
Tomorrow's World Today
Innovation
Photo Credit: Hydraulics & Pneumatics[/caption]
Guernicke's demonstration of the strength of a vacuum, 1654.
Beach's Pneumatic Subway, 1870
Photo Credit: Cedar Point[/caption]
Photo Credit: Walt Disney World[/caption]
Photo Credit: Fuji-Q Highland[/caption]
Photo Credit: Disneyland Resort[/caption]
Photo Credit: Universal Studios[/caption]
