A multi-position cylinder can travel to several positions. A 3- or 4-position cylinder consists of two separate cylinders whose piston rods advance in opposing directions. This means that, depending on the control and stroke configuration, the cylinder can assume up to four positions, with the cylinder travelling precisely to the stop in each case.
To realise three positions, two cylinders with an identical stroke length must be connected to each other. For four positions, two cylinders with a different stroke length are connected.
Note that, when one end of the piston rod is fixed, the cylinder barrel executes the movement. The connections to the cylinder must therefore be flexible.
The cylinders are connected using a multi-position kit. Festo offers multi-position kits for the compact cylinders ADN and profile/tie rod cylinders DSBC/DSBG and DNC.