Introduction
Selecting a hydraulic cylinder is no easy task, but following a few steps will help. In this article, we’ll cover everything from determining the configuration of your cylinders to specifying their load capacity and bore diameter. We’ll also talk about the most important environmental factors for selecting your cylinder and how to determine whether you need a piston seal or not. So if you’re looking for some guidance on how to select the right type of Hydraulic cylinder service for your next job, read on!
Determine Cylinder Configuration.
To determine the cylinder configuration you need, you’ll need to consider your application. The 3 most common configurations of hydraulic cylinders are:
- Double Acting
- Single Acting
- Bimodal
Consider the Load.
You can’t figure out how much force you need without first determining the load. Determining the load is important because it will determine what size cylinder you need for your job. The size of the load dictates how much mechanical advantage or leverage can be applied to that part of your machine. If a small piston is used with a large quantity of fluid, then less force will be applied at the endpoint because there is more space between two points in space; whereas if a large piston is used with smaller amounts of fluid, then more force will be applied at these two points because there isn’t as much distance between them and they are closer together.
It’s also important to think about where this force will be applied: front-to-back, side-to-side, or up and down. Knowing this information helps us determine whether we should use ball valves (for vertical motion) or gate valves (for horizontal motion).
Determine the Position of the Load.
The position of the load is defined as how far it extends about the centerline of the cylinder. There are two ways to identify this:
- Distance from one end of the cylinder (end-to-end)
- Distance between opposite faces (face-to-face).
This will help you determine what kind of load you need for your job. For example, if you want to raise an arm from horizontal to vertical, then the lengthwise extension would be important; however, if you wanted that same arm to move up and down quickly with minimal travel distance, using a widthwise extension might be more appropriate.
Select the Rod Diameter.
The rod diameter is the largest diameter of the rod. It’s important to know this because it determines how much pressure your cylinder can handle, and how much load capacity it has. It’s also determined by what you’re lifting with it—if you have a large load that needs to be lifted, then your rod diameter should be larger than if you have smaller loads.
If you’re lifting heavy materials like pipes or bars of iron, get a bigger cylinder because they need more power and strength to lift them. If you’re lifting smaller items like cables or other light loads, choose a smaller cylinder so that there isn’t too much pressure on the system when moving these items around (although keep in mind that this might not always be possible).
Specify the Bore Diameter.
The bore diameter is the inside diameter of the cylinder. The piston rod size determines how far you’re going to be able to push or pull a load with your hydraulic cylinder.
The stroke length determines how tall your tabling press will be, and therefore its maximum force. With a longer stroke, you can apply more pressure to whatever is being pressed down by lifting something higher than if you had used a shorter stroke.
Because of this, it’s important for builders and buyers alike to correctly specify their cylinders’ bore diameters (ID). The ID not only determines which pistons can fit in each cylinder but also lets builders know what kind of maximum pressure they can use on certain applications without damaging them or exceeding safety limits set forth by OSHA codes
Select a Piston Seal.
When you’re choosing a cylinder, you need to consider the piston seal as well. The seal is an important part because it controls fluid flow and pressure in the cylinder. It’s also crucial for keeping contaminants out of your system, so it should be able to withstand the application’s pressure and temperature as well as any chemicals that might be used in your application.
The type of seal will depend on what kind of motion or action the hydraulic cylinder will have—whether it’s going up and down, moving side-to-side, or both. A flexible material like rubber provides excellent resistance to abrasion but may wear out faster than other options if used continuously at high pressures over long periods (such as when applying force). If you need something more robust than rubber but don’t need full sealing capabilities (such as no leaking), glass-reinforced elastomers are available with moderate resistance against abrasion while still allowing for some movement inside them (like when pushing something back into place).
Think about Operating Speed.
- Speed. When you are looking at a hydraulic cylinder, speed is the rate at which its piston moves (measured in revolutions per minute or RPM), and it affects how quickly it can respond to commands. For example, a high-speed cylinder with an operating speed of 1,000 RPM can move faster than one with only 750 RPM. This is especially important when working with fast-acting cylinders like hydraulics that open and close valves quickly—and perhaps even more so if you plan on using them in an industrial setting where their movements may cause injury if they’re not quick enough or fail to stop before hitting something dangerous behind them.
- Stroke Length. The stroke length is also critical because it determines how much force your cylinder can exert when moving back or forth between its start position (top dead center [TDC]) and end position (bottom dead center [BDC]). This distance will determine how far your plunger moves when it’s activated by electricity from your PLC system; for example, if you have 200mm of range then this means that when fully stretched out your plunger will go from 0mm all way up until 200mm before returning down again after being triggered by electricity from the PLC system itself – which means that whatever movement happens within those parameters will happen immediately without any lag time between triggering off signals being sent down cables connected directly into each component too!
Foresee Environmental Factors and Limitations.
As you conduct your research and identify the right cylinder for your application, it’s important to consider what environmental factors and limitations will be at play. The following questions will help you think through these environmental factors:
- What is the temperature range?
- How much pressure can it take?
- What materials are involved in the operation of this cylinder?
- Where will this cylinder be used (e.g., indoors or outdoors)?
Follow these steps to select a hydraulic cylinder that will perform well in your application.
If you’re looking for a hydraulic cylinder, consider these three steps:
- Determine the load requirements of the application.
- Determine the stroke length, speed, and travel distance required by your application.
- Choose a cylinder that can safely handle these requirements and still have space left over for other components like valves, fittings, and seals (if needed).
Conclusion
That’s it! Now you know how to select a hydraulic cylinder for your application. We hope that this article has helped you understand what makes up the best cylinder for your needs and where to find it. Please feel free to contact us if we can assist you further with any questions or concerns.
Photo by Tim Mossholder: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-clean-automotive-engine-3076820/
