remote control gates with pneumatics on the cheap

[Andrew J. Coholic]

In my shop, I use a centralized Belfab dust collector, with ducts to all my machinery and manually operated metal blast gates. In most cases, the gates are either right at the machine and easy to open and close. No issues. However, a few of them (for various reasons) are either in an awkward position - down low off the shop floor, behind a machine, etc. I had priced some factory made pneumatic gates, and the lowest I can find is still several hundred US. In our shop, Im always looking to make up things "quick and dirty" that are still reliable and inexpensive. Money better put towards other things.

A few of my gates I converted to pneumatic. Simple and cheaply - Chinese cylinders and controls from Amazon, some Festo style connectors and 1/4" tubing. For controlling the speed of the gate, I just turned a small brass plug that fit into the tubing, and drilled a small hole (trial and error with small # size drill bits) to slow down the action of the cylinder.

They work great, and for some machines that are used many, many times daily - between three employees - the gates are far less likely to either forgotten to be opened or closed, when the control is easily seen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryzUQJnlUVc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UwztJZahBQ

[Thomas Bank]

Nicely done! Sometimes the simple answer is the best one. Any product names you’d recommend for the pneumatics?

[Andrew J. Coholic]

Nicely done! Sometimes the simple answer is the best one. Any product names you’d recommend for the pneumatics?

Honestly, I just searched amazon for the length required- you want the travel or stroke of the cylinder to match the travel needed for the gate you are using. Then I searched the same seller for control valves etc. To save shipping in bought from the same seller. Valves were under $10 or do with the cylinders from $15 to $25 or so. I bought more as well for other jobs. The sellers are all foreign. Most ship from Hong Kong. I've ordered other parts like linear slides and bearing blocks as well. Takes several weeks but very inexpensive realitively speaking.

[Alan Schaffter]

Amazon and Ebay can provide all the parts you need. Making fully automatic gates is just one more easy step. As mentioned, my system is fully automatic- turn a machine on and a current sensor switch (by CR Magnetics via Ebay. It is a simple torroid coil and a transitor) detects the current and allows 24V DC from a transformer to power a solenoid air valve, (I use readily available bidirectional, SMC 5/2 solenoid air valves. This simple setup was much easier for me to implement than a PLC or Arduino controller setup. Air is supplied by my shop compressor. A minimal amount of air, at approx 15 psi, drives bi-directional cylinders (throw = gate size + 1"), most are readily available Bimba cylinders) to the open (or close) the gate slide. I didn't use any special gates- a mix of old and new ones I made from MDF and plastic laminate. When I converted the old and new ones to autogates I just mounted cylinders to gate body and attached the rod to the gate slide. I wrote an article published in AWW mag a few years ago that showed how I make simple gates that slide easily and seal well. Follow Dan's link or search SMC using "autogates" or related terms and my name you'll find a number of posts with more info and photos.





The laminate is applied to the faces with standard laminate adhesive. Here I am joining the gate halves with pieces of laminate- none have failed in over 10 years! Blue painters tape is for spacing and will be removed once the gate halves are joined. As you can see the slide goes all the way through making it a self-cleaning gate.



Gate production line



Current sensor switch mounted in standard electrical box. Orange sheathed wire at lower left is the ("sensed") power lead. It comes from an outlet supplying a tool, is routed through the center of the torroid (no direct connection) and goes back to the outlet box. Small twisted orange a black wires are the low voltage "switched" wires.



Two types of surplus (Ebay) SMC solenoid valves. They can be found singly (left) or often in large manifolds (cheaper due to volume). I had to disassemble the manifolds and added plexiglass "cheeks" to each valve (valve on the right).



Here is a typical surplus multi-valve manifold. Also visible is new gate and a failed attempt at making my own cylinder from PVC, etc.



Bimba cylinder mounted to gate

[Andrew J. Coholic]

I have made my own air cylinders from smooth wall brass tubing, and a piston turned from aluminum with two O rings. You need of course to seal the shaft exiting one end cap as well. With even a basic metal lathe, it is easy work but time consuming. They work, but when you can buy a factory made cylinder for under $20, and good steel and aluminum gates for similar - it doesnt' pay (for me anyhow) to take time from paying work to do "everything". But paying $400 to $500 for a factory made blast gate is of course quite costly.

For me, having manually operated gates is fine. But your automatic stuff is cool.

[Alan Schaffter]

I have made my own air cylinders from smooth wall brass tubing, and a piston turned from aluminum with two O rings. You need of course to seal the shaft exiting one end cap as well. With even a basic metal lathe, it is easy work but time consuming. They work, but when you can buy a factory made cylinder for under $20, and good steel and aluminum gates for similar - it doesnt' pay (for me anyhow) to take time from paying work to do "everything". But paying $400 to $500 for a factory made blast gate is of course quite costly.

For me, having manually operated gates is fine. But your automatic stuff is cool.

One of these days, I need to do another video of my system. I had a video on the AWW website for years but it disappeared when AWW folded a few years ago and I have never been able to find the original.