Understand the working of Hydraulic Cylinders

In simple words, a hydraulic cylinder is a mechanical device used for transferring power with the use of high pressure oil acting against the surface area of a piston within the cylinder. A hydraulic cylinder generally generates liner force in one axis in either one or two directions which is known as a single or double acting cylinder respectively.

There are generally 4 to 5 components in a hydraulic cylinder including tube, piston, road, gland, and end cap. In a normal hydraulic cylinder, a piston oil is filled in at either end via some kind of ‘port’ and the piston is sealed to the tube by a double acting seal and also between the rod and the gland by a single acting seal. Moreover, you will generally find a wiper seal which is used in the gland to keep dirt out.The major thing is the pressure which acts upon the piston surface and causes the hydraulic cylinders to generate a linear movement. As the rod is fixed to the piston, it moves itself also. The application of hydraulic pressure through the port to one side of the piston causes it to move in one direction while application of pressure through the port to the opposite side of the piston will make it to move in the opposite direction.In case of a single acting cylinder, oil acts only on one side of the piston thereby enabling a mechanical motion in one direction. An external force such as gravity or sometimes a spring or another hydraulic cylinder is used to generate force in the opposite direction.Single acting hydraulic cylinders can also be of “displacement” type in which the oil pressure works directly on the end of the rod making no use of piston. In this cylinder design the force is controlled by the surface area of the rod, whereas in a cylinder with a piston, the rod can be of any size and the force can be calculated or controlled by the piston design.Generally one end of the tube is fixed and the end of the rod is attaché to the object to be moved, despite the fact that it is possible to fix the end of the rod, and attach the object being moved to the end of the tube. The size of a hydraulic cylinder can be virtually limitless, typically from a few centimeters in length to several meters, although in theory there are few limitations.Lodematic are a leading UK Manufacturer of Hydraulic Cylinders, Hydraulic Jacks, and Hydraulic Rams. Not only have we included a description of the range and types of cylinder we manufacture but also a section on how Cylinders work with the information required to build your specification.