Hydraulic cylinder part names , purpose , features and demands

Cap End
Cover
Bottom
cover

Tube
Barrel
Cylinder
Obeys
Pascal

Piston

-like foot shoes takes all loads and abuses

-Subjected to Hydraulic and Mechanical loads and
shocks
- houses mounting pin bush , connecting hydraulic port
, in some cases cushion hole for plunger
-Gets welded to tube with close clearance spigot and
narrow groove
-Has greasing hole to lubricate bush and pin
-In some cases has cavity to increase fatigue life
-Raw material should be f orgeable, machinable and
weldable
-- pin bore ,thickness ,spigot dims tolerance controlled
-Bore perpendicularity,thickness offset and bore offset
controlled

Rod Eye
Eye End

- load enters the cylinder through eye

- welded or threaded to rod
-Subjected to tension , compression , bending dynamic loads
-Should be forgeable , weldable , heattreatable and machinable
-Should be fatigue resistant
-Bore for the bush and grease hole for lubrication of bush & pin
-Has good grinding relief and smooth merging radius with eye

Tube Flange

- gets welded to tube and houses head end cover

-Takes the retraction and end butting + cushion loads if present
-Bore and face dimension , tolerance and perpendicularity
ensures alignment of Head end cover hence rod
-Should be forgeable , heat treatable , machinable and weldable

-Pressure vessel contains fluid applied load on

piston area exerts pressure in contained fluid
-Gets welded to cap end cover and welded / threaded
to head end flange ( proper torquing )
-Has tolerated bore ,surface finish ,straightness for
piston bearings , seals movement
- absorbs shocks with oil and material flexibility

Rod
Ram
Piston
Rod

- Mechanical member resistant to

tension ,compression ,buckling ,bending ,bulging ,shear ng
-Should be weldable , heattreatable and machinable
- surface resistant to wear , dent , ding , corrosion ,hitting and
blasting
-Concentric threaded piston with proper torquing to provide
clamping not to loose the piston under dynamic loads
-Houses floating cushion plunger and bush when required
- controlled offset , orientation and thickness of rod eye friction
welded to ensure break free joint
-Scratch / score free , hard , fine finished surface to ensure long
life for seals and against corrosion

-Converts applied force tensile or compression to

hydraulic pressure by piston seal
-Provide guided linear motion through bearings
-Threaded and torqued to rod inducing clamping force
and not to get loosened under dynamic load conditions
-Groove ball-grub screw holds piston not to come off
-O Ring inside piston prevents leakage form eitherside
-Dimensions , tolerances , concentricities ,
perpendicularities , radius , chamfer , important form
alignment and function

Head End
Cover
Rod end cover

Obeys
Newton

-This is carrier o-ring BU ring , Bearing , Primary and Secondary

rod seal s ,wiper threaded or bolted to tube or flange
-Takes bore location and gets clamped to Tube flange/tube
-Provides cushion bore where needed
-Absorbs cushion spike and piston butting cover
-Tolerances ,concentricities ,perpencicularities ,chamfer ,radius
,surface finish for bearing ,seal important
-Material damping helps absorb shoc

Secondary components
Cap End and
Rod Eye Pin
Bush

-Hardened pin makes herzian contact ( >90deg) with

bush and bush experiences impact ,steady and
rotating loads
-Hardened case with proper lubrication and fitment
with Cap / Eye required
-Some cases the bush is protected using dust seal
-Bush bore after fitment controlled to meet pin dia
-Lubricating grroove in 8 or spiral with grease passge
hole improtant
-Sharp edges in the grooves and cross hole s are
enemies

Grease hole

Cushion Pin /
Bush

-End butting 30-60mm used for cushioning

-Pin and bush floats axially and radially to align with
bores
-Smooth entry long chamfer helps lift the pin and
bush to critical annular clearance
-Controlled clearance, notches and orifice provide
the flow restriction achieving cushioning- measured
interms of cushion length , time and pressures
-- this will soften the mechanical or hydraulic impact
-Operator and machine will not jolt

Piston seal
Bidirection
both side
sealing

-This provides 360 deg sealing contact at

bore dynamic and groove in piston static
-Light ,medium and heavy duty need
different types considering ,pressure
,velocity ,temperature ,duty cycle
-Material ,geometry , hardness ,abrasion
resistance ,coefficient of friction ,thermal
expansion play important role
-Piston seals experiences ,steady , transient ,
dynamic,shock,lock and cushion pressures

Rod bearing

-Experiences side loads , lateral shock loads , impact

loads
-Smooth and quick reversals
-Press fitted and some times retained by circlip
-Shall have an oil passage path to Rod seal
-Bush bore tolerance , bottom fitment clearance
,alignment in assembly important to avoid rubbing
or scoring of rod
-Entry chamfer ,radius , relief important

Piston
Bearing

-Takes side loads and provide guide to piston

-One or one on either side of piston seal or
two on either side provided based on
application
-Should be wear ,tear , impact , abrasion and
shear resistant
-Should have temperature with standability
and less friction
-Groove diameter ,radius ,width important
-Cut width passage for oil flow to seal
-Radius ensures hydrodynamic lubrication

Rod Seal
Primary
Buffer
Secondary seal
Unidirection
seals

-- since rod side volume is less pressure spikes for

dynamic loads inevitable- application based
-- primary seals dampens these spikes and blow
back the oil U type / step seal used
-- seconday selals take the buffred pressure U cup
-- for other material ,geometry.. See piston seal

Rod wiper

-Rod experiences outside contamination and

inside clean oil wiper like soldier prevents
the entry of contaminants
-Single l/ double lip type with snap in / press
fit sometimes circlip retained for heavy
duty

O-ringsHEC OD
Piston ID

-Provision for grease pumping to bush grease

galleries
-Has a small ball spring check valve for
gresase IN
-Has taper thread to seal grase leak
-Orientation , light tightening important
-In all these cases o ring provide static
sealing that prevent s leaksge against
pressureised oil
-Pressure ,temperature and size important
- bore/rod diameter ,groove diameter,radius
, chamfer I and surface finish mportant