Pneumatic cylinder

Pneumatic cylinder(s) (sometimes known as air cylinders) are mechanical devices which use the power of compressed gas to produce a force in a reciprocating linear motion.

Like hydraulic cylinders, something forces a piston to move in the desired direction. The piston is a disc or cylinder, and the piston rod transfers the force it develops to the object to be moved. Engineers sometimes prefer to use pneumatics because they are quieter, cleaner, and do not require large amounts of space for fluid storage.

Because the operating fluid is a gas, leakage from a pneumatic cylinder will not drip out and contaminate the surroundings, making pneumatics more desirable where cleanliness is a requirement. For example, in the mechanical puppets of the Disney Tiki Room, pneumatics are used to prevent fluid from dripping onto people below the puppets.

Once actuated, compressed air enters into the tube at one end of the piston and, hence, imparts force on the piston. Consequently, the piston becomes displaced.

One major issue engineers come across working with pneumatic cylinders has to do with the compressibility of a gas. Many studies have been completed on how the precision of a pneumatic cylinder can be affected as the load acting on the cylinder tries to further compress the gas used. Under a vertical load, a case where the cylinder takes on the full load, the precision of the cylinder is affected the most. A study at the National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan, concluded that the accuracy is about ± 30 nm, which is still within a satisfactory range but shows that the compressibility of air has an effect on the system.

Pneumatic systems are often found in settings where even rare and brief system failure is unacceptable. In such situations locks can sometimes serve as a safety mechanism in case of loss of air supply (or its pressure falling) and, thus remedy or abate any damage arising in such a situation. Leakage of air from the input or output reduces the pressure and so the desired output.

Although pneumatic cylinders will vary in appearance, size and function, they generally fall into one of the specific categories shown below. However, there are also numerous other types of pneumatic cylinder available, many of which are designed to fulfill specific and specialized functions.

Single-acting cylinders (SAC) use the pressure imparted by compressed air to create a driving force in one direction (usually out), and a spring to return to the "home" tion. More often than not, this type of cylinder has limited extension due to the space the compressed spring takes up. Another downside to SACs is that part of the force produced by the cylinder is lost as it tries to push against the spring

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