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A hydraulic cylinder is a working cylinder which converts the force of a hydraulic energy source into a linear movement. Hydraulic cylinders play an important role in power transmission, especially in vehicles and machines.
Hydraulic cylinders convert hydraulic into mechanical energy and are capable of transmitting very high forces. A further advantage of hydraulic drive technology is the possibility of imaging particularly uniform and exact driving movements. The hydraulic cylinder makes use of the low compression of hydraulic fluids.

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Technical foundations of the hydraulic cylinder

Even if there are many different variants of the hydraulic cylinder, the basic construction of the component is always the same. The most important components of a hydraulic cylinder include:

Cylinder head
Cylinder tube
Piston rod (optional)
Various seals
Valves
damping devices
Fastening
Hydraulic hoses

Hydraulic cylinder of the company Kautz Apparatsbau GmbH

Depending on the application, hydraulic oil or water can be used in the cylinder as a force-transmitting medium. During the transmission of force, the medium is subjected to pressure on the drive side. This pressure is used to move a piston rod and thereby to initiate a linear movement. The hydraulic energy is usually taken from a pressure accumulator or a hydraulic pump. The force acting on the piston surfaces can be calculated by multiplying the surface perpendicular to the working direction with the pressure acting in the cylinder.

The different variants of a hydraulic cylinder

Hydraulic cylinders are offered in various designs. In principle, professionals distinguish between a single-acting and a double-acting cylinder. While single-acting cylinders have only one piston side and therefore can only produce work in one direction, there are two piston surfaces in double-acting cylinders which can be alternately acted upon by the force-transmitting medium. This principle results in two possible directions of movement.

A typical example of a single-acting hydraulic cylinder is a lifting platform as can be found in automotive workshops. The weight of the car ensures that the lifting platform can be retracted after the operation. Alternatively, in the case of single-acting hydraulic cylinders, springs can also be used to move the piston back.

Lifting platform with hydraulic cylinder

Depending on the design, a distinction is also made between different cylinder types:

Telescope cylinder: The telescopic cylinder consists of several cylinders which are nested in one another and can be extended for transmission of force. This principle has a very long stroke.
Smooth piston cylinder: The plunger piston cylinder is also referred to as plunger cylinder and provides that the piston and piston rod are combined in one component. This makes the variant very simple, versatile and particularly cost-effective.
Differential cylinder: The differential cylinder is the typical construction of a double-acting cylinder.
Clean cylinder: The synchronizing cylinder also denotes a double-acting cylinder, but, in contrast to conventional variants, has the same speed of entry and exit.
Tandem Cylinder: If large forces are to be applied on a small surface, the tandem arrangement is suitable in which the force application of several pistons is added one after the other.

The challenges of manufacturing

In order to make optimum use of the advantages of hydraulics during the transmission of force, good sealing of the displacement space is to be ensured in the production of hydraulic cylinders. In order that the piston seals well with respect to the mechanical seal, the roughness of the piston surface must therefore be kept as low as possible. Usually, the piston is smoothed by fine grinding and then hard chromed.

Applications for hydraulic cylinders

Compared to pneumatic systems, hydraulic drives are characterized by a very precise and uniform movement. Hydraulic cylinders are therefore widely used in drive technology and are always used when a linear movement which is as uniform as possible is to be produced continuously. The typical areas of application include construction machines, for example, in which very large forces are transmitted with high demands to linear precision. Hydraulic cylinders are also used in many other lifting, lowering or displacement operations.

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