In the fast-paced and high-risk oil and gas industry, having reliable, durable equipment is critical to operational success. At the center of many vital systems lies a key component: the Hydraulic Cylinder. Whether it’s land-based drilling, offshore platforms, or refinery systems, hydraulic cylinders provide the power and control needed to operate safely and efficiently.

Cushions much like the ones on your couch right now are designed to take the impact force that comes from the piston moving quickly and abruptly stop when coming in contact with the Head or Cap. While this can happen occasionally without major damage to the cylinder, over time this impact loading can cause the tie rods to fail due to fatigue loading, or can cause excess compression loading to the piston, head or cap. This causes distortion of these parts which will ultimately lead to cylinder failure.

There are many applications where cylinders are exposed to extreme heat due to environmental conditions. Whether your cylinder is near a bakery oven or hanging above a crucible of molten metal knowing which options are available to handle the heat becomes top priority.

   Keeping up with production demands is a proven challenge in the lumber industry. To stay competitive, operations demand higher performance and lower cost for automated equipment. Lumber processing end-users want solutions to the problems encountered in the rough environment of the mills where temperatures fluctuate, dust produced from the processes damages your equipment, and grate machinery.

 On the first day of December my rep sent to me...

Let’s face it, your maintenance team works hard for you. They put in their eight hours per day, five days per week, and then they are on call the other 128 hours each week that they are not out on the shop floor making repairs. They climb in the machines, deal with all of the dirt and oil, the metal shavings, they go outside to fix the heating system when it is 5° below zero, and are on the roof patching it when it is well over 100° outside.  These guys put in the extra hours when the shop is closed to make sure the machines are up and running every day to keeping the parts flowing out, and the money flowing in. Anything management can do to make their lives easier is ALWAYS appreciated.  When you are looking at purchasing cylinders for your machines that your maintenance team will have to install and maintain, there are some features you need to make sure you get to make their lives easier.

Much the same way that you want the columns on your front porch to have the strength to support the roof --avoiding any and all Tim the Tool Man Taylor incidents -- column strength is a critical piece when addressing cylinder design as well.  So many of us don’t understand what it is and how important it is; let's investigate some of the factors associated with it to help gain a better understanding.