Browse By Letter

Search engineering dictionary:

Definition:

Cylinders : Pneumatic Cylinder

A pneumatic cylinder is a hydraulic device that used compressed gas or air to generate a force. Compressed air is injected into a cylindrical tube and the air imparts pressure onto the face of a piston plate and causes it to move. Pneumatic cylinders can be single-acting or double-acting. In a single-acting cylinder, the pressurized gas is used only to drive the piston and a spring returns the piston to the intial position. In a double-acting cylinder, compressed gas is used on both ends of the cylinder to power both the in-stroke and out-stroke of the piston.