Pneumatic cylinder

[1] : 85  Engineers sometimes prefer to use pneumatics because they are quieter, cleaner, and do not require large amounts of space for fluid storage.

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.

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.

A single-acting cylinder (SAC) has one port, which allows compressed air to enter and for the rod to move in one direction only.

The high pressure of the compressed air causes the rod to extend as the cylinder chamber continues to fill.

The telescoping cylinder incorporates a piston rod nested within a series of hollow stages of increasing diameter.

The main benefit of this design is the allowance for a notably longer stroke than would be achieved with a single-stage cylinder of the same collapsed (retracted) length.

Consequently, telescoping cylinders are primarily utilized in applications where the piston bears minimal side loading.

[5] One well-known application of the mechanical type (albeit steam-powered) are the catapults used on many modern aircraft carriers.

If the rods length is less than 10 times the diameter, then it may be treated as a rigid body which has compressive or tensile forces acting on it.

Where: On instroke, the same relationship between force exerted, pressure and effective cross sectional area applies as discussed above for outstroke.