[VIDEO] Actuator Sizing: Cable Cylinder

When picking the right sized cable cylinder for your pneumatic rodless cylinder application, the goal is to determine the amount of force necessary and provide a cost-effective and efficient solution.

In order to find the right sized cable cylinder, we’ve compiled a list of steps that will help you make the right calculations:

Step 1: Determine the Amount of Force Required

Calculating the amount of force necessitated by your application varies depending on the type of application. For instance, horizontal vs. vertical applications have different requirements:

For horizontal sliding applications, force is determined by taking the load weight times the coefficient of friction of your guiding mechanism.

For example: If you have a 1000-pound load sliding on linear rails (and let’s say you have a coefficient of friction of 0.1), your cylinder force would need to be at least 100 pounds. It’s smart to oversize your calculations by 20% to account for system losses.

For vertical applications, the amount of force required is simply the load weight that the cylinder would need to lift.

Step 2: Determine Output Force at Various Pressures

To determine what the output force will be at various pressures, we recommend referring to the cable cylinder catalogue and review the load pressure vs force chart for any given sized cylinder. This will tell you what the cylinder output force will be at many different levels of pressure.

Step 3: Consider the Stroke Length of the Cylinder

Step 4: End-of-Stroke Cushioning

Cable cylinders are provided with internal adjustable cushions. Refer to the load weight vs velocity charts in the cable cylinder catalogue to determine if the internal cushions are adequate for your application. External adjustable shock absorbers could be added for more demanding applications.

To view more details and step-by-step sizing instructions, please download our cable cylinder catalog, or contact us for more information!