Pneumatic cylinders are components that carry out a movement using compressed air, which is why they are also known as compressed air cylinders. Pneumatic drives are an especially cost-effective solution for a number of application areas – even in extremely tough ambient conditions – and stand out for being really simple to commission. Speeds of between 10 mm/s and 3 m/s can be achieved. Pneumatic cylinders are sturdy and flexible thanks to the compressibility of the air, which also makes them resistant to high external forces.
Pneumatic cylinders are used in numerous applications in automation technology/factory automation. Typical application areas for pneumatic drives are clamping, lifting, countersinking, pushing, pulling, feeding, turning, gripping, clamping and holding, joining, stopping, stamping, embossing and many others.
The range of pneumatic cylinders drives at Festo includes piston rod and rodless cylinders (linear drive), rotary cylinders, tandem, multi-position and stopper cylinders, as well as clamping cylinders, drives with linear guides, and bellows and diaphragm cylinders. As part of the range, we offer many standards-based cylinders with standardised dimensions and mounting interfaces. Cylinders that comply with a specific standard have identical dimensions. There are standards for piston rod cylinders with round design (ISO 6432), compact design (ISO 21287) and for profile and tie rod cylinders (ISO 15552).
In a pneumatic cylinder, the compressed air is used to exert force on a cylinder piston in order move it in a specific direction. The movement of the piston is transferred to the parts to be moved by a piston rod or a frictional connection. A pneumatic cylinder is a drive operated with compressed air usually up to a maximum of 12 bar in order to generate linear or rotary motion. A distinction should be made between single-acting and double-acting cylinders (work is performed only in one direction or in both directions).
A single-acting pneumatic cylinder only has one compressed air connection. The incoming compressed air moves the piston in one direction, and the cylinder force is built up in this direction. If the piston needs to return to its initial position, the air is simply expelled from the cylinder. The mechanical spring pushes the piston back to its initial position. This part has a ventilation/exhaust hole so that no excess or low pressure is generated through the piston movement in the second cylinder chamber.
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The double-acting cylinder requires compressed air for every direction of movement. On this type of cylinder, the force in both the advancing and retracting direction is built up using compressed air. The simplest way of actuating a double-acting cylinder is by using a 5/2-way valve.
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