How To's

How to Measure your Hydraulic Cylinder?

There are many key dimensions in order to determining the Hydraulic Cylinder you require. The main dimensions are the Bore, Rod Diameter, Retracted Length, Total Stroke, and Mounting parameters. Dimensional data included with the unique specifications will help us determine the cylinder you require. Unique specifications include but are not limited to porting details, special mounting, operating pressure and fluid type. For a complete data sheet, utilize the following for a complete technical measurement form.

How to Cut down Maintenance Costs?

Want to cut down on down time and maintenance costs? Knowledge is the key! Down time and repair costs hold a great amount of value when it cuts into the profitability of a company. Understanding typical failures of hydraulic cylinders and how they affect performance can reduce maintenance costs. Below is an outline of the major causes of premature failure.

Side-loading-
Damaged pistons rods or rod bearings are one of the common causes of rod seal failure. Typical causes are poor alignment between the cylinder and its load. Resulting in side-loading or a bent rod due to an under-sized rod.

Contaminated Fluid-
Contaminated fluid can cause premature seal failure. Harmful particles in the fluid can damage the seal, score the rod and bore. If the seal sustains damage it can allow contamination to be drawn into the hydraulic cylinder via a faulty seal.

Barrell Damage-
Insufficient wall thickness for a cylinders wall thickness can lead to what is known as barrel ballooning. When the barrel balloons, the tolerance between the piston and barrel is now being bypassed. This bypass will cause seal wear and ultimately premature failure.

How to decide between Repair Vs. Replacement?

It has been speculated that 25% or more mechanical equipment failures are due to design flaws. Many of times Hydraulic Cylinders are an after-thought for Engineers that limit the design of Hydraulic Cylinders strictly to dimensions that are left available. In turn, that oversight prohibits the design and engineering that Hydraulic Cylinders require for optimum performance and fitness.

Not all Hydraulic Cylinders are made equal. With that said, it is easy to determine when a Re-Design and Replacement is required. If you have a Hydraulic Cylinder that suffers recurring failure, it’s a candidate for a Re-design that will end the vicious cycle of failures and repairs.