Hydraulic Cylinder Parts

In today's world we see hydraulic systems being used everywhere. All the big machines that you see on your daily drive or walk function on the basis of hydraulics. Hydraulics (study of the mechanics of fluids) have helped reduce the workload of machines. Heavy duty tasks such as lifting cranes, digging or crushing huge boulders have now easy because of the principle of hydraulics. Hydraulic cylinders are found at the core of every hydraulic system. In this article, we discuss the various parts which help the cylinder to ensure smooth functioning of the hydraulic system.

A hydraulic cylinder or motor is one of the various mechanical parts used in engineering vehicles. Hydraulic cylinders make use of the pressurized hydraulic fluid in order to produce a linear force. When it comes to understanding the various operations of hydraulic cylinders or motors, it's very important to understand how does a hydraulic motor work? The presence of various hydraulic cylinder components ensures proper functioning of the automotive machine.

Hydraulic Cylinder Components

Hydraulic cylinders derive power from hydraulic fluid. The various parts of the hydraulic cylinder are cylinder barrel (which is actually a piston connected to a piston rod), a separate barrel which is closed on each end with a cylinder bottom, and with a cylinder head and rod gland. Let's have a look at various hydraulic cylinder parts in detail.

• Cylinder Barrel: The cylinder barrel is the area where the piston makes back and forth moments. The barrel is a unlined thick walled pipe that is situated inside the cylinder. The cylinder barrel is perfected internally.
• Cylinder Head: Cylinder head is connected to the barrel with a lock or screw. Most engineers say that a flanged connection should be used to connect the head and barrel. Flanged connections are ideal, but they cost a lot. The advantage of having a flanged connection is they are always simple to remove for maintenance and other purposes.
• Cylinder Bottom: The barrel and bottom portion are welded together in most hydraulic cylinders. In most cases this damages the inside of the barrel if done poorly. However many upcoming new cylinders have a screwed connection from the cylinder end cap to the barrel, so that the question of rebuilding a hydraulic cylinder can be answered in the future.
• Piston: A piston is defined as a short cylinder shaped metal component which is used to separate the two sides of the cylinder barrel. The piston is usually forged with grooves or metal seals which prevent the hydraulic oil to pass by the piston through the chamber on the opposite side. Seals are of different designs and are made to suit the temperature and pressure requirements of the cylinder.
• Piston Rod: A piston rod is chrome plated piece of cold steel which is attached to the piston. The piston rod joins the hydraulic actuator to the machine component which helps the cylinder to accomplish a given task. A machine thread or a mounting attachment can be used for this connection.
• Rod Gland: The last names on the list of these parts is rod gland. To make sure the pressurized oil doesn't leak the cylinder head is fitted with seals. This area is termed as rod gland. It also has another seal called rod viper which works as a block to stop contaminants from entering in the cylinder.

Hydraulic Cylinder Design

You will find two styles of hydraulic cylinder designs. The first one is known as the tie rod cylinder. This is the design in which threaded steel rods are used to connect the end caps to the barrel of the cylinder. This design is highly popular in factories. Examples where tie rod cylinder design is used are large bore cylinders and small bore cylinders.

The second style of hydraulic cylinder design is known as the welded body cylinder. In this design, the hydraulic cylinder parts such as barrel and end caps are welded together while the ports are joined through welding. Welded body cylinder is used in bulldozers, excavators and road graders.

If you are thinking where else hydraulic cylinders are used, for that you have to understand the basic concept of how hydraulics work, which in itself is very vast.