“Sir, what can I get for you tonight?”

You say, “I’ll have a steak dinner”.

As the waiter walks away your mouth starts to water thinking about that big juicy steak you just ordered. Hmmmm, a steak dinner, that’s a pretty broad choice… Are you getting a New York strip? Or maybe a round steak? And what is coming with it? Who knows? You just told him a steak dinner. Mashed potatoes and gravy? Or the stuff that’s good for you like steamed veggies? (You hope it is the mashed potatoes.)

Drink? You completely forgot about the drink!

There was a time, almost a generation ago, when the HH range of cylinders used an array of (normally) four metallic rings as the piston seal. Their function was much along the lines of the ones used in a car engine to this day.

These rings were inert to more or less anything the world threw at them. Heat was an easy task, aggressive fluids no problem and the working surface was so hard that the tube was more likely to wear over time than the seals were to lose their size.

While we at Sheffer don't provide hydraulic power units, these are invariably used in a majority of hydraulic applications to drive our cylinders. By looking at the system as a whole, in many cases hydraulics can provide a more cost effective solution especially when long-term energy costs are considered.

Many of our distributors can provide complete solutions and technical assistance regarding power units and a comprehensive hydraulic solution incorporating Sheffer cylinders.

When one considers the large number and the regularity of quotation requests and inquiries that Sheffer receives, it can be seen that there are many users of hydraulic cylinders that have applications requiring stainless steel construction. Typically, these requests and inquiries address N.F.P.A. hydraulic cylinders with stainless steel construction and (in referencing the N.F.P.A.) it appears that some users are under the assumption that stainless steel hydraulic cylinders will have the same pressure ratings and dimensional interchangeability as Sheffer’s conventional product lines, in particular “HH” and “MH” Series.

It doesn’t matter where you come from, or what you call them, the arrangement of components, which hopefully bring a cylinder to a graceful stop at the end of its stroke is a useful bit of kit – provided it works right first time and every time!

Sheffer calls them cushions – but it’s surprising what names other people have developed for exactly the same thing. The range of names may well be cultural or more likely regional; whatever the reason, if somebody mentions a gag, or a choke, or any other word of a similar nature, it’s probably worth asking if they are talking about a cushion.

The process of choosing the right hydraulic cylinder for your specific application may seem routine or even repetitive at times, but it's important to maintain a fresh outlook in beginning this process and to always remember to consider several basic components.