How To Choose The Right Hydraulic Cylinder
Hydraulic cylinders are devices used in both large and small scale industry, in manual and in power tools. They give a leverage of force to move a workload. Hydraulic cylinders are used in machines that push, pull, lift or ease down heavy loads. They are used in automotive industry, civil engineering, mining, drilling, warehousing, shipping and loading to name but a few. Hydraulic cylinders are found in cars, press machines, robotics, automatic doors and gates. The larger and more resilient industrial hydraulic cylinders are found in earth movers, bulldozers, oil rigs, cranes, draw bridges and the like. The main parts of a hydraulic cylinder are the cylinder head, the piston and the piston rod. There is an emphasis on frictionless and airtight connections between these parts to avoid wear and tear.

The hydraulic cylinder is filled with hydraulic oil and it houses a piston which moves back and forth along its length. The piston is pushed or pulled by a piston arm that is in turn powered by a generator. The piston has rings and valves that allow it to slide along the hydraulic cylinder Hydraulic cylinders endure tremendous forces that are transmitted through the oil by hydraulic pressure. Since the hydraulic cylinder is tightly sealed, it is able to efficiently direct force to work upon a heavy workload. Hydraulic cylinders are made of high stress steel. To avoid corrosion they are painted but the piston rods that are connected at their end are not painted since they are always under high stress.

For aesthetic purposes the piston rods may be coated with chromium. Industrial hydraulic cylinders are custom welded with bore sizes that fit into specified volumes of space. Hydraulic cylinders come in different sizes and features. They may be single stage for one directional function, or double stage for dual directional force. In the case of industrial hydraulic cylinders, there are options of multi stage cylinders as seen in earth movers that can operate with multiple functions. A hydraulic cylinder is usually connected to an oil reservoir that it draws from until the piston rod is pulled to full length. The hydraulic oil is routinely drained and replaced to avoid build up of impurities. The entire hydraulic apparatus is powered by DC current from standard automotive batteries.

Hydraulic cylinders are made of high quality steel which is the reason why they can transmit large amounts of force needed to move loads. They use liquid fluid for high stress operations as opposed to pneumatic cylinders which use air for smaller scale applications. The larger the bore size of the hydraulic cylinder the more force it can exert. Bore sizes are standardized into different size categories that cuts across all manufacturers. Therefore hydraulic cylinders are items that are purchased over the counters of hardware marts. They are interchangeable for different brands. There are some instances however, where customized hydraulic cylinders are necessary. These are usually industrial hydraulic cylinders for special projects. The hydraulic cylinder end is usually threaded or flanged to enable repair or routine maintenance to be carried out.