Pneumatic Cylinder types

Cylinders are the most important means of actuation in pneumatics. The cylinder transfers the energy that is stored in the compressed air into movement.

They can be classified by:

Design

Cylinders with piston rods

Rodless cylinders

Diaphragm cylinders

Rotary cylinders

Guide cylinder

Movement

Linear

Rotary = turning 

Function

Single-acting

Double-acting

3- or 4-positions

Usage:

Linear cylinder

Clamp cylinder

Cushioning

Adjustable, pneumatic cushioning

Flexible cushioning

Without cushioning

There is a very wide variety of pneumatic cylinders. In this training we will only focus the most common ones.

Cylinders are available in different types and follow different international standards. Besides the ones that follow standards there are also “non-standardized cylinders”. Especially before the standardization into DIN/ ISO norms 6431 and 6432, there were numerous cylinder-types offered by different manufacturers.