Developed by Peter Strain, Bearsden Academy — for educational use
The simulator has three main areas:
| Area | What it does |
|---|---|
| Toolbar (top) | File controls (Save/Load), Simulation controls (Play/Stop/Speed) and Canvas tools (Undo/Redo/Zoom/Rotate) |
| Sidebar (left) | The component library. Click a category to expand it and reveal components |
| Main canvas | The workspace where you build your pneumatic circuits |
| Properties panel | Appears when a component is selected. Allows you to change labels and settings |
Open a category in the sidebar then click and drag a component card onto the canvas. A ghost preview will follow your cursor to show where the component will be placed.
Red dots on components are connection ports. To connect two components:
Click and drag a component to move it — connected pipes will stretch to follow. Hold Shift and click to select multiple components, or click and drag over an area to box-select.
| Category | Component | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Supply | Air Supply | The source of pressure for your circuit |
| 3/2 Valves | Button / Roller / Plunger | Basic control valves, used as signal inputs |
| 5/2 Valves | Pilot-Pilot | Directional control valves for driving cylinders |
| Cylinders | SAC | Single acting cylinder — spring return |
| Cylinders | DAC | Double acting cylinder — powered both ways |
| Flow & Logic | Restrictor | Slows air flow to control cylinder speed |
| Flow & Logic | Shuttle Valve | OR gate — allows air from either of two inputs |
| Flow & Logic | Reservoir | Stores air to create time delays |
Click the green ▶ SIMULATE button to start. During simulation:
| Colour | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Blue pipes | Pressurised air |
| Grey pipes | Atmospheric (unpressurised) |
| Light blue pipes | Exhaust air |
| White arrows | Direction of air flow |
Click buttons, valves and bleeds during simulation to interact with the circuit. Use the Speed slider to slow the simulation down for detailed analysis.
Click ■ STOP to return to build mode. All cylinders and valves reset to their starting positions.
Click the Switch to Symbols button (top right of canvas) to toggle between block mode (realistic-style parts) and symbol mode (standard ISO pneumatic symbols used in engineering drawings).
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| R | Rotate selected component |
| F | Flip component vertically |
| H | Flip component horizontally |
| Delete | Delete selected component or pipe |
| Escape | Cancel current action |
| Ctrl+Z | Undo |
| Ctrl+Y | Redo |
| Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V | Copy and paste selected components |
| I | Export circuit as high-resolution image |
Click the Save button to download your circuit as a .json file. Click Load to upload a previously saved file and continue your work. This is useful for saving work at the end of a lesson and returning to it next time.