Know Your Pneumatics: Single or Double Acting? Choosing the Right Cylinder
The most popular kind of pneumatic actuator consists of a piston and rod moving inside a closed cylinder, made to move in a straight line to deliver linear motion. This type of linear actuator is used in a variety of industrial sectors, factory automation and packaging, plus transportation and life science programs.
When wanting to define linear actuators there are two sorts of working principle: only acting and double acting. We'll explore these variants, typical applications plus benefits and pitfalls.
Single acting cylinders
An individual acting cylinder is one in which the push or output is manufactured in just one direction.
The piston is returned with means of a fitted spring, or by some other external means like a burden, mechanical movement, gravity or an outside spring. They have a single port allowing pressurized air to enter the cylinder to move the piston into the desired position.
There are two types of single acting cylinder:
Single acting cylinders, such as Parker's P1P Series, are typically used for applications where work is performed only in 1 direction, like clamping, placement, marking, stroking and light assembly operations.
Advantages:
Straightforward layout,
Compact dimensions,
Reduction in valve and piping costs, and
Air consumption is halved in comparison with the equivalent sized double-acting cylinder.
Double-acting cylinders
A double-acting pneumatic cylinder is one where the thrust, or output , is designed in both extending and retracting directions. Double-acting cylinders also have a vent at each end and transfer the piston forward and back by switching the port that receives the high-pressure air, necessary every time a load has to be transferred in both directions like opening and shutting a gate.
Air pressure is applied alternately into the opposite ends of the piston. Application of air pressure produces a thrust from the favorable (push) stroke, and even thrust in the negative (pull) stroke.
Double-acting cylinders are typically used in all applications where the thrusts and stroke periods demanded have been in excess of those available from single-acting cylinders. Small double-acting cylinders can also be employed for programs where positive end-of-stroke positions are required for the two strokes.
Know Your Own Pneumatics: Double or Single Acting? Choosing the ideal Cylinder - P1F Double Acting Cylinder - Parker Hannifin - Pneumatic Division EuropeDouble-acting cylinders, such as Parker's P1F Series, are the most widely used of all layouts of linear actuators. They account for approximately 95 percent of all cylinders used in electrical control systems.
Advantages:
Generally, ISO criteria are based on the design of double-acting cylinders.
A more extensive range of double-acting cylinders compared to single-acting cylinders, giving many more choices of stroke and bore sizes.
Many versions are offered on the standard double-acting cylinder design.
Airmax Pneumatics is one the leading pneumatic cylinder manufacturers in India, they export to the gulf countries.
