Basic Construction

The major components of a cylinder are the head, cap, tube tie rods, piston, piston rod, rod bearing
and seals.

Cylinder Heads and Caps are usually made from rolled steel or cast iron. Some are also from
aluminum or bronze.
Cylinder Tubes are usually brass, steel or aluminum. The inside, and sometimes the outside, is
plated or anodized to improve wear characteristics and reduce corrosion.
Pistons vary in design and materials used. Most are made of cast iron or steel. Several methods of
attaching the piston to the rod are used. Cushions, are an available option on most cylinders and most
often, can be added with no change in envelope dimensions.
Piston Rods are generally high strength steel, case-hardened, ground, polished and hard chrome
plated for wear and corrosion resistance. Corrosive atmosphere conditions usually require rods of
stainless steel, which may be chrome plated for wear resistance.
Rod Glands or Bearings are used on the head end of most industrial cylinders to support the piston
rod as it travels back and forth. The gland also acts as a retainer for the rod packing and seals. Most
are made of ductile iron or bronze and usually are removable without disassembling the entire
cylinder. The gland usually contains a piston rod wiper or scraper on the outboard side to remove dirt
and contamination from the rod, and prevent foreign material from being drawn into the packing. A
primary seal is used to seal the cylinder pressure.
Seals are generally made from Nitrile or fluorocarbon elastomers, polyurethane, leather or PTFE. The
Lipseal shape
is commonly used for both piston and piston rod seals. Generally, O-Rings are used for static
applications such as head to tube, piston to rod, and head to gland. Cup or V-packings are used for
sealing piston and piston rod. Piston rings are usually cast iron.
Tie-Rods are usually high tensile steel with either cut or rolled threads, prestressed during assembly.
Prestressing with proper torque prevents separation of parts when subjected to pressure and reduces
the need for locknuts, although locknuts are sometimes used.