Machine builders are being asked, or sometimes pushed, by their clients to do more, which means the automated machinery they design needs to do more. Machines need to have high throughput, better accuracy, improved reliability, more
It's no different with components used in automated machinery. Machine builders desire performance and value of the components they use. Let's look at pneumatic rodless cylinders, which are commonly used in various types of automated machinery.
Benefits of Rodless Cylinders
One of the advantages of using a pneumatic rodless cylinder is to move a workload along an axis while guiding and supporting it along the way. A pneumatic rodless cylinder can move, or stroke, the workload along its body length, saving space (up to 40% space) in contrast to a traditional pneumatic rod cylinder that extends a rod well past its body length.
Customers are expecting pneumatic rodless cylinders to do more, especially in terms of workload support. In an ideal world, the workload rests directly onto the cylinder's carrier (e.g. carriage, shuttle). But what happens when the workload is offset or application specifications change? Can the cylinder still perform the task? The short answer is it depends. It depends on whether or not the pneumatic rodless cylinder that you selected can handle the torque moments created by the offset load. If it can, you're all good and ready to go. If not, a larger cylinder size, with the torque moments required, may need to be selected, which may not fit in the original envelope.
Benefits of DURATRK Cylinders
W.C. Branham Inc. offers its pneumatic rodless cylinders in modular form, whereas adding more guiding on the cylinder's carrier may suffice for the application. For example, W.C. Branham's DURATRK cylinders are available with a standard carrier and can be accessorized to add one or two external guides to give up to 70% more loading support.
What if that’s not enough for your application? Are you now faced with blowing up the design by having to select a larger size cylinder even though the force required to move the load is sufficient but the offset moment load is not? Possibly, but there may be a saving grace without increasing the bore cylinder size — a pneumatic rodless cylinder with an integrated precision linear rail and ball bearing system that has the robustness to guide and support most working loads. W.C. Branham has this type of product, the DURATRK DTFL model.
Benefits of DURATRK DTFL Cylinders
When is it time to choose the DURATRK DTFL Rodless Cylinder? The last resort? Hopefully not, but circumstances can change mid-stream. But, if you look hard at your application and try to determine the worst case scenario in terms of required force, torque moments and operating environment, you should start your selection process with a product like the DTFL and work backward until you find the cylinder that has the right performance and value for your needs. This way, you may be able to stay within the same bore size.
W.C. Branham DURATRK rodless cylinders are available in six different bore sizes ranging from 18mm to 63mm diameters. Models include the standard DTS, Single Guide DTF, Dual Guide DTFD and the robust integrated rail and ball bearing guide system in the DTFL. All of these models are also available in shorter compact models, that offer the same stroke in a shorter space, starting with the DTK.
If you need some guidance on our DURATRK products, we have just that. Click the icon below for your downloadable DURATRK Guide. If you still have questions, contact our team of experts. We're always happy to help.
