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  6. Guided cylinders

Guided cylinders

Guided cylinders

Festo guided cylinders – drives with guide rods and pneumatic slides – are pneumatic drives and are one of the "workhorses" of industrial automation. They are used in a wide range of applications such as lifting, pressing, pulling, separating and much more. Both types of guided cylinders combine the benefits of linear movement with those of guided motion and stand out thanks to their extremely high stability.

You can find more products in our category: Pneumatic cylinders

When it comes to guided cylinders, we offer two product categories: slide drives (pneumatic slides) and drives with guide rods (twin-piston, guided, compact or mini guided cylinders). Slide drives are characterised by high precision and repetition accuracy. Drives with guide rods are attached to a yoke plate, thus protecting them against rotation and making them especially sturdy and resilient.

Pneumatic slides (mini slides)

Festo slide drives are pneumatic slides with an especially compact design. We offer pneumatic slides in a number of sizes with a wide range of mounting and cushioning options in order to guarantee optimal cycle times and minimise the transfer of vibrations to the machine. Slide drives achieve a repetition accuracy of 0.01 mm.

Drives with slides

Drives with guide rods

Festo guided cylinders with guide rods are really sturdy, resilient, compact and precise. They are available in a number of sizes and versions, with the selection ranging from conventional guided cylinders to special models, such as for food, high-temperature, cleanroom or ATEX applications. Drives with guide rods can hold virtually any tool, achieve stroke lengths of up to 400 mm and can generate large positioning forces when required.

Drives with guide rods

Application areas for guided cylinders

Guided cylinders with guide rods are available in many applications, either with just one piston or in series with twin pistons. Piston integrity is guaranteed by two guide rods which are attached by the piston to the yoke plate, which holds a tool. The yoke plate prevents the piston from rotating when subjected to transverse forces. This design ensures top-class operational stability.

Guided cylinders with guide rods can be used in a wide range of applications such as lifting, pressing, pulling, pushing, clamping, stopping, holding, cutting, separating and much more.

Pneumatic slides normally consist of one or two piston rods and a guide rail. These are guided in the slide housing via recirculating ball bearing elements or cage guides. This enables them to execute extremely precise movements with high repetition accuracy, even when subjected to transverse loads and torque. Pneumatic slides are mounted horizontally or vertically and always execute linear movements.

Pneumatic slides are therefore ideal for tasks that call for high precision and repeatability. They are an excellent solution for a gantry, such as on a 2D linear gantry with an X and Z axis. They can also be combined in gripping and feeding or piggyback configurations, in many cases without an adapter.