Cylinders are not household names, but they are components that impact many people, without them even knowing it. No matter what type of cylinder, such as hydraulic to pneumatic to electric, they all have their own specific functionality. These functions range in different environments, including food processing, packaging, automated manufacturing, and even pumpkin launching. Each has different expectations on output and time investment.
Yes, there are different ways to use cylinders, but what do you do if a single part decides to malfunction? Well, that depends on what type of model you have, your machine’s purpose, and how often you need it for your job. You also need to factor in your business needs and the strain on machines from their regular work.
You might be able to fix your machine with repairable cylinders or just drop in a new non-repairable cylinder. Knowing the difference can help optimize troubleshooting when your machine decides to not maintain the necessary air pressure or hydraulics. You can set your budget more accurately for the oncoming year, which will provide relief for your accounting department.
Cylinders work by receiving electrical signals and adjusting their position in response. The connection is key to ensure that they assist in delivering power or air pressure according to demands, as well as stopping rotation when told to do so. If improper alignment ensues, then the machine hardware can face damage, which necessitates further repairs. Thus, you need to be precise when choosing your cylinders.
When purchasing cylinders, always find one whose sizes meet industry standards so that you can make a replacement with different brands if necessary. Otherwise, you may find yourself without any parts, even if going with a new manufacturer.
Want to know more? Let’s take a look at each and which would work for you in your own manufacturing business.
Repairable Cylinders
Repairable cylinders offer manufacturing and other industries a cylinder that’s fixable and easy to take apart, without destroying the entire assembly. With removable end caps affixed by tie rods, it’s easy to rebuild or just replace the faulty parts within the cylinder.
While there are some that are custom-built, the tie rods that hold the end caps in place should be built to the NFPA or ISO-6431 standards. Even with these standards, not all repairable cylinders are drop-in replacements for machinery with other manufacturer’s parts. This is where cap lengths and other factors could hamper the replacement and where you would need to ensure the parts match, based on the type of manufacturer.
There are different uses for these types of cylinders; for instance, stainless steel cylinders are used in environments with water spray, such as food processing plants. These pass FDA standards and with non-toxic additives, they also appear in facilities that process beverages and medical products.
Stainless steel is durable and made to withstand intense sterilization processes. They also have a high heat threshold and resist corrosion or rusting and are designed to prevent water from entering the machines’ air systems. These facets make the cylinders highly useful for work environments that utilize a lot of water vapor and high temperatures, such as food processing.
These cylinders are also used in the medical equipment and pharmaceutical industry. With the corrosion-resistant steel, you can be assured that the sterilization and cleaning processes are similar, and they ensure a consistent quality of control. When you take a pain reliever or melatonin to sleep at night, you can thank repairable cylinders for ensuring that each medication is clean and does its job.
Non-Repairable Cylinders
Unlike its repairable counterpart, non-repairable cylinders or also known as throwaway cylinders are built without reuse in mind. These types of cylinders typically have end caps made of aluminum or sometimes plastic and use stainless steel tubes for cylinder barrels. The end caps are also crimped to the tube and if someone tries to take the cylinder apart, it will destroy the housing.
With minimal machining involved for the end caps, these parts are easier and more cost-effective to produce. They cost less overall than a repairable cylinder would when factoring in repairs. Some can even come from a three-dimensional printer, which would reduce the costs further if you receive them from a small-scale manufacturer.
However, once these parts experience damage and no longer work properly, they are thrown out and recycled in the metal bin. Usually, the cylinders stop working when the piston or cushion seals have worn down enough to no longer function properly.
Replacing these parts is easy and costs less in the long run. The tradeoff is that you run the risk of accumulating waste while reducing the time on cylinder and actuator repairs. You could also have component fractures. In any case, different factors can cause your cylinder to stop working.
With an easier one-time, lower cost to manufacture, non-repairable cylinders serve different roles as needed in their one-time use in manufacturing and other types of operations. These roles include the following:
- Proximity switches
- Foot mounts
- Alignment couplers
- And much more…
Proximity switches open and close power clamps and grippers depending on notifications they receive from sensors. The notifications are called “end-of-strokes” and are necessary for notifying cylinders when they have to stop rotating. Foot mounts help lock cylinders in place with their mounting threads and ensure that they remain stable.
Always account for bore sizes when choosing your cylinder. The bore is the diameter of each cylinder, and that in terms determines how much power the machine can deliver.
Which Do You Choose?
Which should you choose? Both non-repairable cylinders and repairable cylinders have their place, but if you had to pick one over the other, there are some factors to think about.
Do you have a large budget or a small budget? Do you have the resources, time and funds to repair broken cylinders or just drop in a new one? You need to decide if you want to allocate money towards repairs or toward spare parts. Having a mechanic on hand can prove costly, but so can the total costs of replacements.
Also, what are your business goals for sustainability? While nonrepairable cylinders are recycled, you still run the risk of accumulating waste of potentially nonrenewable resources. Repairable cylinders reduce the possibility and can thus impact your carbon footprint positively. Using them can create a business atmosphere where you encourage people to think green.
Based on these questions, it really depends on your specific situation and business. If you are launching pumpkins as part of an annual tradition, it makes more sense to sense to get a nonrepairable cylinder. You would need to replace them at worst about once a year, and the consequences of a malfunction would mean you get a spilled pumpkin. If you are using miniature actuators to perform dental work, however, you will have to make constant replacements so that dentists and their assistants always have functioning equipment for appointments.
Safety is also a factor. If a plane launches incorrectly due to the wrong choice of cylinders, it can endanger the pilot and possibly passengers. An aeronautics engineer wants to figure out if you feel more comfortable making a life-saving repair with a replaceable cylinder or not. You won’t have to
Now you have taken all these factors into account. Time to make a decision. Which type of cylinder do you use in your business? Which cylinder provides you the best return on your investment?
Find Your Air Cylinder At SMC Pneumatics
SMC Pneumatics USA is powered by Orange Coast Pneumatics. Orange Coast Pneumatics (OcAire) is an official, national provider of SMC Pneumatics USA products. SMC offers 11,300 general pneumatics products, with over 560,000 variations, engineered to meet applications in every sector of the market, including repairable and non-repairable cylinders. We keep tabs on which products exit the market and what suitable substitutes exist that may even improve your machine.
Contact us to find out which cylinder type and size you want for your machine, business, or occasion. SMC Pneumatics wants to ensure that you have all the knowledge and parts that you need. Our experts can help you find out the right model and keep the air pressure going for your actuator. Maintain your machine with accurate knowledge, and with pneumatics advice that comes from the source.