What is a rodless cylinder?

How Do Rodless Cylinders Work ?

To explore how a rodless cylinder works, we take a mechanically coupled rodless cylinder as an example. Firstly, it includes an internal piston position that moves within the cylinder barrel and is driven by compressed air input from both ends. A slider is installed on the outside of the cylinder, and the connection between the slider and the piston is through a metal strip. Buffer pads are installed at both ends of the piston to prevent emergency stop.

The following are the specific working steps of rodless cylinders:The prerequisite requirement is that the cylinder adopts a sealed design to maintain air pressure and prevent pollutants from entering.

Internal piston movement

There is an internal piston inside the sealed cylinder, which moves along the direction of the cylinder through the cylinder

Connect the piston to the carriage

The movement of the piston is ultimately to drive the load or object to move, so the carriage outside the cylinder is the bridge connecting the two. How to install the carriage outside the cylinder? There are three ways to connect the piston and slide:

Slot: There is a slot with a sealing ring on the cylinder to prevent air from escaping. The piston is connected to the carriage through this slot.

Magnet: Strong magnets on the piston and slide can pull the slide when the piston moves.

Cable: A cable that connects the inside of the piston and the outside of the carriage, and can pull the carriage when the piston moves.

External transportation

The installed carriage will move with the movement of the internal piston in three ways, with the external carriage directly or indirectly connected to the internal piston.

Mobile carriage

When the air pressure pushes the piston forward and backward, the piston will drive the carriage to move along the cylinder. This external carriage carries the load or object you need to move.

Due to the rodless design, it can help users consider application industries with limited space more, as long travel and stability can greatly improve the efficiency of application industries.

Rodless Cylinders Characteristics:

When using rodless cylinders, parameters such as temperature, pressure, and speed should be considered.

◆ Rodless cylinders with magnetic coupling have no piston rod protruding from the cylinder block

◆ The overall installation size is small, and the axial space is small, which saves about 44% of the axial space than the standard regular cylinders.

◆ The piston area at both ends of the magnetic coupling rodless cylinder is equal, so the values of the thrust and the pulling force are equal, and it is easy to achieve intermediate positioning. 

When the piston speed is 250mm/s, the positioning accuracy can reach ±1.0mm

◆ The surface of the piston rod of standard regular cylinder is easy to accumulate dust and rust, and the rod seal may absorb dust and impurities, resulting in leakage. However, the external slider of magnetic coupler rodless cylinder has no dynamic seal and no external leakage.

◆ Magnetically coupled rodless cylinder can produce ultra-long stroke specifications. The ratio of the inner diameter to the stroke of the standard regular cylinder is generally not more than 1/15.

◆ While the ratio of the inner diameter to the stroke of the rodless cylinder can reach about 1/100, and the longest stroke can be produced to 3m within the range to meet the needs of long-stroke applications.

◆ The magnetic coupling type has a small shape and has mounting threads and nuts at both ends, which can be directly installed on the equipment

◆ The magnetic coupling rodless cylinder has a relatively small load and is suitable for loading small workpieces or manipulators to move

◆ When the basic magnetic coupling type moves back and forth, the slider may rotate, and a guide rod guide device must be added, or the magnetic coupling rodless cylinder with a guide rod type is selected.

◆ Compared with the mechanical type of the guide belt part of the leakage defect, magnetically coupled rodless cylinder has no external leakage, and can be maintenance-free after installation and use.

Application:

Because rodless cylinders are not affected by rod overhang, bending, piston binding and uneven seal wear, rodless cylinders are ideal for applications in confined areas and long strokes where space is limited.

As an actuator in the pneumatic system, the rodless cylinder can be used for opening and closing doors of automobiles, subways and CNC machine tools, mobile positioning of manipulator coordinates, parts transfer of centerless grinders, combined machine tool feeding devices and automatic line feeding, cloth and paper cutting and electrostatic spray paint etc.

Categories:

Fokca offers two types of rodless cylinders, including magnetic rodless cylinders and magnetic coupled rodless cylinders.

magnetic rodless cylinders include Basic type: CY1B, CY3B, without guide structure and Imitation rotation type: CY1R imitation rotation with guiding base plate.

magnetic coupled rodless cylinders include Double rod type: CY1S and CY1L.

Cautions:

Five things to consider when choosing a rodless cylinder can help you use it more efficiently.

Piston stroke length: The distance that the cylinder moves forward and backward determines the length of piston movement. Please ensure that its length is sufficient to meet your needs.

Load bearing capacity: When choosing a rodless cylinder, you must consider the weight that the cylinder can bear.

Speed: Some rodless cylinders are faster than others, so please choose a cylinder that meets your speed requirements.

Installation options: Install the cylinder onto your machine or equipment. Different cylinders have different installation options, so please ensure that they are installed properly.

Space: The rodless cylinder does not require an extended rod, which can save space, so the space for cylinder movement can be considered.

Fokca is a leading cylinder manufacturer, specializing in the customization of various types of cylinders. With a wide range of cylinder options available, we are dedicated to providing tailored solutions to meet the specific needs of our customers.

Fokca rodless cylinders are designed for efficient, smooth, and long-lasting linear motion in a wide range of applications. Our rodless cylinders are often used in automation systems where space constraints or long stroke lengths are critical.

If you're interested in our products or require more information, please feel free to contact us for further details and specifications. We look forward to serving your pneumatic needs!