Single Acting Pneumatic Cylinder

Finding the Right Pneumatic Cylinder

If you are looking for a cylinder for your industrial needs, you have a few choices to make. You can choose between pneumatic and hydraulic cylinders. You can also choose between single and double acting cylinders. Finally, you can decide whether you need a light-, medium- or heavy-duty design. Whatever your needs, Yates Cylinders has a solution for you. Below, we will examine single acting pneumatic cylinders and their advantages.

How Do Single Acting Air Cylinders Work?

As the name suggests, a single acting pneumatic cylinder is an actuator that uses a pneumatic system to convert pressure into movement and features a single acting design. Pneumatic systems use pressurized air or another gas as the agent for converting energy from one source into motion of the actuator. Most designs feature a piston in the cylinder that pushes or pulls a rod. By applying pressure behind or in front of the piston, the pneumatic cylinder can extend or retract the rod.

Single-acting cylinders only use pneumatic (or hydraulic) power in one direction. So, if the cylinder is set up to apply a pushing force away from the cylinder, the pressurized air will be applied behind the piston, pushing it towards the front of the cylinder. Spring pressure and reducing the air pressure allow the cylinder to return to its original state.

his contrasts with double acting cylinders that use pneumatic power on both sides of the piston. By applying air pressure on one side while exhausting it on the other, the cylinder can move the piston. Many pneumatic cylinder manufacturers, including Yates Cylinders, make both single acting and double acting cylinders.

Advantages of Air Cylinders

Typically, most users consider pneumatic cylinders against similar hydraulic systems. The key advantages of pneumatics are their cost of operation, long service life and easy-to-handle transfer agent.

Unlike the liquids in hydraulics, the gases in pneumatics are compressible. This means that they are less likely to experience a leak. Furthermore, if there is a leak, the cleanup and fixing process is usually easier and faster because there is no hydraulic fluid to lose. For similar reasons, the internal components of pneumatic tend to wear more slowly and require less maintenance.

This adds up to a longer service life for pneumatics. Plus, they are less expensive to operate. While pneumatic cylinders cannot handle as heavy loads as equivalently sized hydraulic cylinders, they are often preferable unless a high load capacity is critical.

Single Acting vs Double Acting Cylinders

Single acting cylinders are significantly simpler than their double acting counterparts. When the mono-directional design is sufficient for your needs, it is often a good idea to select a single acting design. Pneumatic cylinder suppliers typically have a selection of both styles.

The simplicity of single acting air cylinders means that they can be more compact. This can be very advantageous in an application in which space is at a premium. They are also cheaper to purchase and maintain. Finally, they use less compressed gas compared to double acting cylinders. Therefore, a setup using single acting cylinders will typically require a lower investment in air supply.

Air Cylinder Manufacturers

Pneumatic cylinders can play key roles in a variety of manufacturing and other industrial applications. Finding the right cylinder to suit your needs is often essential to achieving the success of your project. Contact us today to learn more about Yates Cylinders’ services and the various options we offer.