A wide variety of industrial and manufacturing facilities use shop air to power equipment. It’s cheaper, cleaner, safer, and simpler to use than hydraulic power, and the systems take up less space. However, shop air typically provides no more than 100 psi of pressure. That can be a problem if you require higher pressure to slow, stop, and/or hold a vise or another piece of equipment.
You could add hydraulic caliper disc brakes to that equipment, but often that’s not a feasible or otherwise desirable solution. Another option is an air-over-oil intensifier.
What Does an Intensifier Do?
This compact device serves as an on-demand power-boosting accessory for a pneumatic cylinder. It has two separate chambers, one for air and the other holding a small amount of hydraulic fluid. As the air pressure retracts the piston, the pressure forces hydraulic oil behind a smaller piston that pumps hydraulic fluid through the system. This provides the required boost in force. No tanks, hoses, or other hydraulic paraphernalia are required.
The ratio of pressure change depends on the comparative surface areas of the two pistons. For example, if the hydraulic cylinder is ten times smaller than the air side, the radio will be 10:1. This video explains this in greater detail.
OVLBOOST® Fills a Specific Intensifier Need
One of our customers was using 100 psi of pneumatic pressure to hold a locking device in their manufacturing process, but the results were not reliable. They needed a way to exert greater force to hold that tool securely, but there was no hydraulic system available. They came to us for help. Air-over-oil intensifiers are a simple and highly effective solution in cases like this. However, for this customer, we designed something new based on our OVLPRO® actuator—a hybrid cylinder that used pneumatic pressure on one end and hydraulic pressure on the other.
This product is called the OVLBOOST®, serving as an actuator and intensifier all in one. The unique oval piston and bore of these actuators eliminate the risk of rotation during extension and retraction. They also save space, fitting neatly into smaller spaces either flat or on their side. They can be integrated with sensors and mounted in a variety of ways.
The original OVLBOOST® 44mm provides:
- 7.8:1
- 1.50-inch stroke w/ 0.460 cu.in.displacement or
- 3.00-inch stroke w/ 0.920 cu.in.displacement
We also make a smaller version, the OVLBOOST® 25mm:
- 7:1
- 2.00-inch stroke w/ 0.22 cu.in.discplacement
Our OVLPRO® cylinders are available in six different ratio options from 5:1 to 36:1. The OVLBOOST® offers a more limited ratio in converting air to hydraulic pressure, but it can be used where an even smaller profile is required.
Learn More About Intensifiers
Could OVLBOOST® provide the boost your application needs? Contact us and let’s discuss the best possible solution for your application. To learn more about these product lines and get technical specifications, download the OVLPRO® brochure below.
