Cylinders have wide usage in many industries for power generation or power transmission equipments. There are two primary types of cylinders available in the market: hydraulic cylinders and pneumatic or air cylinders. You can further classify these cylinders as fixed stroke or adjustable stroke cylinder as well as single acting and double acting cylinders.

While hydraulic cylinder systems are useful for applications that need smooth and/or heavy-duty operations, pneumatic systems are the preferred choice in applications that need fast operations.

Some of the important parameters you must consider before purchasing a cylinder are:

1. Forces acting on the piston and the cylinder system
2. Fluid flowing through the cylinder
3. Required stroke length and dimensions such as bore size and shaft diameter
4. Material of other mating parts of the cylinder system

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Buy cylinders from reputable manufacturers

Once you have estimated your requirements, research standard cylinders available with different hydraulic and air cylinder manufacturers. Check the compatibility of the cylinder with your existing fluid system before buying.

I recommend: York Industries designs and manufactures hydraulic cylinders suitable for the industrial, aerospace and defense applications. Ram-Pac International offers different types of cylinders such as single acting and double acting hydraulic cylinders. Enerpac manufactures high-pressure industrial cylinders and lightweight aluminum cylinders. Illinois Pneumatics provides single and double acting air cylinders. Flairline Fluid is a reliable pneumatic cylinder manufacturer. B&H Machines, Inc. offers heavy-duty hydraulic and pneumatic cylinders.

Buy customized cylinders

For a non-standard requirement, you need to opt for a customized cylinder. Leading cylinder manufacturers provide customized cylinders to fit such requirements.

I recommend: Lehigh Fluid Power designs and manufactures customized brass or stainless steel cylinders. Peninsular Cylinder Co. offers both customized as well as standard air and hydraulic cylinders. Mountain Power Hydraulics has an expert team to assist you in designing a hydraulic cylinder that meets your requirements. Hanner Machine Company manufactures tested and guaranteed custom cylinders. Additionally, Yates Industries also offers customized cylinders.

Purchase cylinders online from retailers

You can refer to various cylinder distributors and manufacturers on retailers' websites to purchase a hydraulic or a pneumatic cylinder.

I recommend: ThomasNet offers products from various cylinder manufacturers and cylinder suppliers. It also offers lists of aluminum and steel cylinder manufacturers. Globalspec also offers a list of air cylinder manufacturers and hydraulic cylinder manufacturers.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Make sure the piston and the cylinder have a proper alignment.
• •  Install proper leak detectors to avoid power loss due to the leakage of the fluid from the cylinder.
• •  Install proper safety features with the cylinders for a heavy-duty application.