Guidelines for selecting pneumatic cylinders

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Guidelines for selecting pneumatic cylinders

Machine Design Kenneth Korane

Kenneth J. Korane
Thu, 2011-09-29 02:08

Pneumatic cylinders come in thousands of variations. Heres a look at different types, how to calculate force, speed, and air consumptions, available options, and when to consider special designs.

uthored by! Sheila Campbell Product "anager # ctuators $orgren %nc. &ittleton, 'olo. (dited by Kenneth J. Korane ken.korane)penton.com Key points: * Pneumatic cylinders come in many basic versions. * ll cylinders can be tweaked to better fit an application. * 'ustom designs can perform better and save money when standard cylinders dont fit the +ob. Resources: $orgren %nc.

Pneumatic cylinders are widely used to generate force and motion on a vast range of ,(" e-uipment. .hey can move products directly or indirectly by pushing, pulling, lifting, lowering, or rotating, and can keep them from moving by clamping them in place. /ide acceptance comes in large part because cylinders are simple, economical, durable, and easy to install. .hey can produce thousands of pounds of force over a broad range of velocities0 cycle at high speeds without overheating0 and stall without internal damage. nd they readily tolerate tough conditions such as high humidity, dusty environments, and repetitive high# pressure wash downs. Pneumatic actuators come in literally thousands of styles, si1es, and configurations. .his variety makes more innovative# e-uipment possible, but sorting out the best cylinder for an application can be a bit overwhelming. Here are some key considerations.

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Guidelines for selecting pneumatic cylinders

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Cylinder design .he basic, rod#style industrial cylinder consists of a tube sealed by end caps. rod attached to an internal piston e2tends through a sealed opening in one of the ends. .he cylinder mounts to a machine and the piston rod acts upon the load. port at one end of the cylinder supplies compressed air to one side of the piston, causing it 3and the piston rod4 to move. .he port at the other end lets air on the opposite side of the piston escape 5 usually to atmosphere. 6eversing the roles of the two ports makes the piston and rod stroke in the opposite direction. 6od#style cylinders function in two ways! Double-acting cylinders use compressed air to power both the e2tend and retract strokes, moving the rod back and forth. .his arrangement makes them ideal for pushing and pulling loads. 'ontrolling the rate at which air e2hausts determines rod speed. Single-acting cylinders have compressed air supplied to only one side of the piston0 the other side vents to atmosphere. 7epending on whether air is routed to the cap or rod end determines whether the rod e2tends or retracts. .he most common type is pressure#e2tended, with an internal spring returning the piston to its original position when air e2hausts. %n other designs, gravity or an e2ternal spring powers the return stroke. 6od#style cylinders come in various designs! 6epairable cylinders can be disassembled to replace seals and other internal components. .his e2tends a cylinders life. .hese durable cylinders are generally used in rugged, heavy#duty applications. 8ealed#for#life or 9disposable: cylinders have end caps mechanically crimped to the tube. %nternal components are prelubed prior to assembly. lthough they are less e2pensive to manufacture than comparable repairable cylinders, they cannot be taken apart to repair without destroying the housing. .hese cylinders are usually used in lighter#duty applications and must be replaced when they fail. Compact cylinders fit into smaller spaces where only a short stroke is re-uired. .hey are used in lighter#duty applications due to the small bearing surface on which the rod slides. .hey mainly come in single#acting versions, but double#acting styles also are available. Guided cylinders have guide rods and guide blocks mounted parallel to the piston rod, or dual piston rods. .hey prevent the piston from rotating and provide precise, controlled linear motion 5 especially when the unit is sub+ect to high side loads. %n such cases, the guides reduce rod and piston bending and uneven seal wear. .hey are recommended in applications with si1eable offset loads or re-uire that the load be guided, for e2ample, down a conveyor. Rack-and-pinion units convert a cylinders linear motion to angular rotation that can e2ceed ;<=>. .he rotary actuators 5 with the rack mounted on the rod 5 are often used in process industries to operate -uarter#turn valves. %n addition to rod#type cylinders, other designs include!

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Guidelines for selecting pneumatic cylinders

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Bellows are durable, single#acting actuators with fle2ible, reinforced#elastomeric walls and metal end plates. .hey e2tend when inflated and can generate high forces, thanks to their large diameters. cylindrical shape lets them bend in any direction, making them useful where load direction might curve. $ote that e2ternal restraints should be used to limit ma2imum e2tension and compression. ?nrestrained e2tension can blow off the end plate, and e2haust without restraint can let the load crush the sidewalls. 6odless cylinders, as the name implies, have no rod e2tending through the end caps. %nstead, an e2ternal carriage slides back and forth on the tube. .he load mounts on this carriage. %n many designs, an internal piston is mechanically connected to the carriage through a sealed longitudinal slot in the cylinder wall. &ong sealing strips inside and outside the cylinder tube prevent air leaks and dust and dirt ingression. ,ther variations include cable#and#pulley arrangements and magnetically coupled pistons and carriages. Rodless cylinders are well suited for applications with long strokes or high moment loads. .hey save space because the stroke is contained within the cylinders overall envelope. "ost manufacturers offer several carriage designs. .hree of the most common are internally guided, e2ternally guided, and precision#roller guided. Force output nother key selection criterion is how much force a cylinder generates. 7etermine this from the air pressure and bore si1e 3the %7 of the cylinder.4 general rule of thumb is that for vertical and high#friction applications, the re-uired force should be twice the load to be moved. %n some cases additional force is necessary to compensate for friction. 7esigners can calculate cylinder force by multiplying the effective piston area by the working pressure. .he effective area for push force is the cylinder bore. @or pull, its the bore area less the cross# sectional area of the piston rod. .hus, theoretical push force is! F A B3DCDE F dCDE4P where F A force, lb0 D A cylinder bore, in.0 and P A pressure, psi. .heoretical pull force is! F A B3D DE F d DE4P where d A piston rod diameter, in. @orce calculations get more complicated in single#acting cylinders with a spring. .he force opposing the push or pull increases as the stroke progresses. %n practice, manufacturers catalogs often list push and pull values for both double#acting and single#acting cylinders, simplifying calculations for users. /hen estimating the relative force of cylinders with different bore si1es, remember that thrust increases with the s-uare of the diameter. %n other words, doubling the bore will -uadruple the thrust. Speed 8peed affects productivity, longevity, and controllability. 'alculate the stroking speed of a pneumatic cylinder from!
C C

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s A CG.GqDA where s A speed, ips0 - A airflow in standard cubic feetDminute0 and A piston area, in.C

,ther factors that might affect speed include port si1es, inlet and e2haust flow through control valves, and hose or tubing si1es 5 if they create bottlenecks that restrict air flow to or from the cylinder. &ikewise, air pressure that is barely capable of moving the load will hamper speed. /ith any fi2ed combination of valve, cylinder, pressure, and load, it is usually necessary to have ad+ustable control over cylinder speed. @low controls at the cylinder ports let users tune speed to their application. @or most applications, unidirectional flow regulators installed to restrict flow out of the cylinder and permit free flow in give the best results. regulator in the rod#end port controls e2tension speed, and one on the cap#end port controls retraction. Air consumption 'alculating a cylinders air consumption is often necessary on fast #cycling e-uipment to ensure enough supply air is available. .here are two parts to cylinder air consumption. ,ne is the volume the piston displaces. .he other is the unswept volume from end#cover cavities, cylinder ports, connecting tubing, and valves. .he unswept portion is likely to be a small percentage of the total and will vary with the installation. %ts best to ensure the compressor has sufficient capacity to supply pneumatic e-uipment under 9worst#case: conditions. ,therwise, air starvation at critical times will cause performance to suffer. Additional considerations fter si1ing a cylinder for force and stroke, engineers have a lot of leeway in tweaking a cylinder so it best fits an application. Here are a few considerations. Port sizes and locations are usually dictated by bore si1e, but can be ad+usted in custom designs. Envelope dimensions. .he ational Fluid !ower Assn. and "nternational Standards #rgani$ation have established standards for many cylinder dimensions, letting engineers interchange cylinders from different manufacturers. "any models also have uni-ue dimensions. Mounting configuration refers to how a cylinder attaches to the ad+acent e-uipment. .he large number of standard mountings 5 both rigid and articulated 5 usually ensures a cylinder can e2ecute the specific movements an application re-uires. Cylinder materials. .he operating environment is the ma+or factor that governs material choice. Pneumatic cylinders are typically made of steel, aluminum, stainless steel, brass, or engineered plastics. 8ome models combine several materials. Seal materials. 'ylinder manufacturers use a variety of methods to seal the end caps and rod. 7esigners can specify alternative seal materials for applications that operate in e2treme high or low ambient temperatures or are e2posed to caustic chemicals. Position feedbac . "agnetic cylinders have a band of magnetic material around the circumference of the piston and a nonmagnetic cylinder barrel. .he magnetic field travels with the piston as the rod

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Guidelines for selecting pneumatic cylinders

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strokes in and out. "ounting reed switches on the outside of the barrel 5 one at each end, for e2ample 5 generates a signal each time the piston completes a stroke. "ore#advanced versions use &H7. transducers or &6. linear potentiometers to provide continuous indication of piston position. Cus!ions" %f the piston makes metal#to#metal contact with the end covers, the result is noise and potential mechanical damage. 'ushions in cylinders prevent such contact. d+ustable cushions let operators control the rate at which cylinders decelerate at the end of stroke. 8ome cylinders have integral fi2ed cushions. .hey have a preengineered fi2ed cushion orifice that restricts e2haust airflow to slow the piston at the end of stroke. .he amount of cushioning is repeatable but cannot be altered in the field. ,nly use noncushioned cylinders at slow speeds. .o operate noncushioned cylinders faster, install e2ternal stops with shock absorbers. Position these to prevent contact between the piston and end covers. Cautionary tips n important design consideration is to keep cylinder thrust as close as possible to the centerline of the piston rod and free from misalignment or side thrust. 'ylinders are normally intended to push and pull without e2cessive side loads. ,ff#center loads can substantially reduce the service life of rod bearings and seals. ,ff#center and side loading are caused by improper mounting, cylinder deflection under load, machine frame deflection, and rod bending or sagging 5 as well as by poor machine design. 8ometimes adding an optional internal stop tube can reduce a cylinders bearing load. stop tube is a spacer between the piston and rod#end head. %t increases the distance between the piston bearing and rod bearing when the rod fully e2tends. .his configuration also helps in long#stroke applications. %f the piston rod sees compressive a2ial loads, care must be taken to ensure its length, diameter, and load are within safe limits to prevent the e2posed rod from buckling. "ost pneumatic cylinders are assembled with a coating of grease on the bore of the barrel and seals for service with nonlubricated air. %f the compressed air supply is clean and dry, the grease will give the seals a long life without adding oil through an airline lubricator. However, contaminated air will gradually compromise the original grease lubricant and shorten seal life. &ubricated air will e2tend the life of the cylinder, but it will also wash out the original lubrication. 8o once lubricated air is introduced, it must always be used, and the lubricator should be regularly checked and maintained.

%ngineering custom actuators 8tandard catalog components often cannot give ,(" designers the level of performance they re-uire. %n these cases, custom designs may be warranted. 8ometimes it involves combining standard or modified components in a novel configuration, other times it means inventing something completely new. 'onsider this approach when! * (2act off#the#shelf hardware is not available. * .he re-uired combination of components doesnt e2ist. * n application re-uires particularly high efficiency.

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Complex motion control is needed. Equipment design constraints dictate special configurations. For instance, Norgrens Engineering Advantage team uses a full range of motion and fluid-control technologies to solve problems and create products that offer a competitive advantage. he results are often better performance, reliabilit!, and uptime, as "ell as lo"er overall equipment and operating costs. #ere are a fe" examples. Baghouse cylinder. Air-pollution-control equipment that uses fabric tubes, envelopes, or cartridges to capture, separate, or filter dust is $no"n as a %baghouse.& A po"er-generation plant needed to routinel! close off chambers in its baghouse "ith a pneumatic-c!linder that provided quic$, repeatable response, could adapt to various applications, and include all the required pneumatic and electronic components. Engineers combined a standard 'F(A c!linder "ith a directional valve, air filter, pressure regulator, and electrical "iring "ith )unction box to build the baghouse-c!linder assembl!. he unit "as factor! assembled and tested. he customer onl! needed to run control "ires directl! to the terminal bloc$ * saving time b! eliminating the need to "ire all individual components. A mechanical loc$out lets the c!linder isolate individual chambers "ithin the baghouse for maintenance. +ounting the valve and electronics directl! to the c!linder provides quic$ response and reduces air consumption. ,n addition, the space-saving combination leaves room for other components in the air-pollution-control s!stem. Unit-air assembly. Combining a c!linder, valve, and base in a single, compact unit produces fast response, saves space, reduces air consumption, and simplifies installation and maintenance. he pac$age can be used in industrial applications such as pac$aging, material handling, printing, and paper converting. Reciprocating-air motor. his c!linder-valve combination has stro$e-signal valves that serve as external pilots. ,t is used to pump media such as lubricants, fiberglass, foams, resins, hot-melt glue, liquid pol!mers, "aste gases, and other liquids. he c!linders quic$ response time assists dispensing. he self-contained pac$age simplifies installation.

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