Hydraulic rams and hydraulic cylinders are essential components in all Hydraulic equipment and systems. Therefore, choosing the right hydraulic ram is the key to better performance.

Whatever the size and purpose of your hydraulic ram, here is some key points that you should consider when choosing and designing the right hydraulic ram.

Firstly, consider how much physical support the ram and piston needs. Taking into account the stroke length and whether you require a stop-tube to provide further support and prevent jack-knifing. For instance an oversize rod might serve a better purpose.

Too often the piston rod size is overlooked. The piston rod needs to be large and strong enough to cope with the workload of each application.  Otherwise, the cylinder can weaken and succumb to unnecessary stress. Ultimately, this will shorten the lifespan of the product.

Standard cylinders are unsuitable where special conditions apply. Therefore, cylinder mountings need a full evaluation. In some cases, a rigid mount is required, such as when there is a linear motion. However, in other scenarios such as when the motion is curvilinear, a swivel mount will need to be used. In addition, you might wish to consider push versus pull when it comes to mounts.

Rod buckling might occur from compression applications that use long strokes. Therefore, we recommend the maximum allowable push stroke length is calculated with the cylinder rod fully extended.