Designing a Simple Hydraulic Lift for Pascal's Principle Presentation

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around designing a hydraulic lift based on Pascal's Principle for a school project. Participants explore various materials and methods for constructing the lift, particularly focusing on the design of the piston component.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests using PVC or Copper tubing for the hydraulic lift and expresses uncertainty about the piston design.
  • Another participant shares their experience with using syringes for lifting and proposes alternatives like a bicycle pump or modifying a gas strut.
  • A different approach is suggested involving a cylindrical object, such as a jar or hockey puck, with tape used to create a snug fit for the piston.
  • There is a mention of using an O-ring for sealing, with additional tape layers proposed to help center the piston within the pipe.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants present multiple ideas for the piston design, indicating a lack of consensus on the best approach. Various materials and methods are discussed without a definitive agreement on a single solution.

Contextual Notes

Participants express uncertainty about the effectiveness of different piston designs and the suitability of materials, indicating that the discussion is exploratory and open-ended.

Who May Find This Useful

Students or hobbyists interested in hydraulic systems, DIY projects, or applications of Pascal's Principle may find this discussion helpful.

Tobes
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I have this project for school and it is all about Pascal's Principle. Well I've decided I would like to make a hydraulic lift to go along with my presentation and just need some help with the design.

I figure I can make it out of PVC or Copper tubing, either way I don't mind buying most of the materials. I just need a sort of "U" shape lift that I think would work, my problem is that I don't know what I could use for the "piston" portion. If it came down to it I guess I could just use two different size seringes(sp?) but I don't want to settle for less.

Any ideas? Not clear enough?
 
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I guess this doesn't count as doing your homework for you. Until I read down to where you discounted it, I was actually going to recommend using syringes. I got well over 100 lbs. of lift from a 50cc unit using compressed air.
If you want something bigger and/or classier, you could use an old style bicycle pump or modify a hatch-back gas strut.
In the event that you want to make your own, go ahead and use ABS or PVC pipe. You can make a piston simply by filing a groove around the circumference of a puck-shaped item (in fact, why not a puck?) and installing an O-ring for sealing. Screw a piece of theaded rod or just a big bolt into the centre and attach your clevis or whatever to the other end.
 
Ok thanks that helps a lot!
 
Another idea for a piston would be to take any cylindrical object such as a jar or hocky puck as suggested by Danger, and wrap tape around it to build it up so the OD fits just right into the ID of the pipe.

If you wanted to use the O-ring idea, it might be easier to layer on some tape and put two more layers above and below the O-ring to center it.

Hmmm... tape again. Must tell you something about my mentality. :frown:
 
Q_Goest said:
Hmmm... tape again. Must tell you something about my mentality. :frown:
You have got to be a Red Green fan. :biggrin:
Good idea about the tape.
 
Thanks, Ill let you guys know how it turns out.
 

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