Hydraulic Cylinder Repair
Hydraulic cylinders, also known as rams, are mechanical motors or actuators. They’re powered through unidirectional strokes to produce unidirectional forces. Hydraulic pumps are responsible for generating the force needed to push the pistons by allowing controlled or fixed fluid flow into the reservoir. Available in different configurations, hydraulic cylinders find use in almost all industries.
Hydraulic cylinders come in two major types: welded and tie-rod. Every cylinder type comes in a unique design hence use. Welded hydraulic cylinders come in complex designs with use in most applications whereas tie-rod hydraulic cylinders find use in light- to medium- duty applications.
Welded cylinders come in welded designs hence difficult to repair, but rod seals and assembly of piston rods can easily be removed for service. On the other hand, tie-rod cylinders are easily repaired or, if necessary, repacked. This is because they can easily be disassembled for repair or service. However, they’re not easy to customize.
Welded cylinders come in handy when there’s need for robust designs in areas of applications because they come in compact designs. They’re used in material handling and construction equipment, oil rigs, cranes and large off-road vehicles used in mining.
How Hydraulic Cylinders Work
Pressurized hydraulic fluids such as oil power hydraulic cylinders. Piston rods in pistons within hydraulic cylinders move forth and back, pushing oil into the reservoir from the back chamber. When an extension stroke is applied, the oil enters the reservoir from the cap end. At this point, the pressure of oil in the rod is zero.
Reversal of I/O pressures in single double-acting rod cylinders (the simplest in design and the most economical) brings about a difference in force existing between the piston’s two sides. This is attributed to the fact that the rod attached to the piston covers one of its sides. The cylinder rod greatly lowers the piston’s surface area and possible retraction stroke force.
In case of two-rod double-acting cylinders, no difference in force is obtained if a rod of the same size is used to cover the piston. These kinds of cylinders come with their bodies affixed to stationary or fixed mounts.
Different Parts of a Hydraulic Cylinder
Hydraulic cylinders have many parts as follows:
Cylinder Barrels – a barrel is the main body of the cylinder responsible for holding its pressure. Mostly comprising a seamless tube, the barrel is normally given a 4-16 micro-inch finish on the surface for internal honing or grounding. Barrel sizes are optimized through hoop stress calculations. Similar, cylinder pistons reciprocate the same.
Cylinder Cap/Base – caps enclose pressure chambers on one end. Usually, caps are threaded, welded, bolted or tied using rods to cylinder bodies. When used to mount cylinders, they’re known as cap trunnions, cap flanges or cap clevis. Bending stress is used to determine the ideal size of a cap. With the exception of welded constructions, barrels and caps are linked through o-rings or static seals.
Cylinder Heads – cylinder heads enclose the ends of pressure chambers not enclosed by caps. The heads feature built-in rod seal arrangements. They also work with seal glands. Heads are bolted, threaded or connected to barrels (cylinder bodies) through tie rods using o-rings or static seals.
Pistons – as mentioned earlier, pistons separate the different zones of pressure in cylinder barrels. Machined with grooves, pistons fit metal or elastomeric seals and bearing components. The seals can either be double or single acting. Cylinders retract and extend due to the differential pressure between the pistons’ two sides. Nuts, bolts or threads can be used to attach pistons and piston rods to each other.
Piston Rods – these are hard cold-rolled steel with chrome plates. They attach to pistons with extensions from the hydraulic cylinders via the head of the rod’s end. They extend from the two sides of a piston in case of double rod-end hydraulic cylinders, coming out both ends of a barrel. Mounting attachments or machine threads are used to connect hydraulic cylinders with machine’s working components through the piston rod.
Seal Glands – seals are used to fit cylinder heads. This ensures that pressurized fluid can’t leak beyond the interface between the head and rod. This is the seal gland area. Seal glands comprise of primary or main seals, buffer or secondary seals, scraper or wiper seals, bearing components and static seals. Seal glands are easy to remove when there’s need to replace seals. However, if the hydraulic cylinders are small, the bearing components and rod gland are machined into a single component.
Seals – the working medium, speed of cylinder, working temperature and pressure and area of application determine the kind of seal to be used. Elastomer seals are used in environments with low temperatures whereas viton seals are ideal for high-temperature environments. Metallic seals are mostly made of cast iron. Single-acting rod seals are dynamic whereas piston seals are dynamic can either be double or single acting.
Metallic scrapers are used in environments with sub-zero temperatures and areas where the rod can be contaminated with foreign materials. Scrapers or wipers help remove contaminants such as dirt, moisture and dust in such environments, preventing them from damaging cylinder seals, rods, walls and other parts. The wear bands or bearing elements prevent contact between metals. Their selection depends on load side specifications.
There are many other components of hydraulic cylinders
Mounting Methods
Various methods are used to mount cylinders including flange mounts, pin-eye, trunnion, tang, side-mounting, pivot mounts, spherical, cross-tube and centerline lug mounts. Application requirements determine the type of mounting for your hydraulic cylinders.
Special Hydraulic Cylinders
Apart from welded and tie rod cylinders, there are special types of hydraulic cylinders. These include snowplow, linear, mill-type, loader, top link, plunger, telescopic, differential and smart or position-sensing cylinders.
The essence of hydraulic cylinders in hydraulic systems is clear at this point. This means if they fail, your hydraulic system’s proper functioning is impaired. As a result, your system can realize reduced performance and thus production. Your company can also suffer serious losses in terms of customers and finances.
Are you asking yourself, “Where can I find a hydraulic cylinder repair near me?”
Don’t worry because this is where IMS comes in to offer you hydraulic repair services. We offer hydraulic cylinders repair services to ensure your systems are back up and running, working as expected. As a result, the performance of your mobile or industrial machinery improves, leading to increased productivity and ROI. What’s more, we stock various hydraulic cylinders to ensure that in case there’s need for replacement, we get the job done very fast.
Hydraulic Cylinder Repair Process
Since hydraulic cylinders are critical parts of a hydraulic systems, their failure can impair the functioning of your systems and machinery. They can be disassembled and rebuilt during repair. First, the cylinders are scrutinized part by part during inspection to find the exact problem. Option for repair is then chosen accordingly. Our hydraulic repair procedures typically involve disassembly, problem diagnosis, repair or replacement of failed components and rebuilding.
Why the Need for Hydraulic Repair Services
Our hydraulic power unit repair services come in handy in the following areas:
- Production Lines
- Industrial Balers
- Industrial Compactors
- Garbage Trucks
- Hydraulic Leaks
- Commercial Trash Compactors
- Car Shredders
- Hydraulic Failure
- Commercial Cardboard Balers
We work on both tie rod and round cylinders. We offer a range of hydraulic cylinder repair services including cylinder testing, replacing seals on hydraulic cylinders, operation testing, flow testing and leak testing. Sometimes, cylinders can be rebuilt for less expense than purchasing new replacement units.
Our Customers
We have a large base of customers that access our industrial pipe setup services. Maintenance managers, plant managers, industrial plant managers, maintenance planners, maintenance supervisors, maintenance technicians and purchasing agents make up the majority of our audience.
National equipment service companies that maintain balers and compacters for commercial businesses also make up our hydraulic repair service customers.
Branding
Our major hydraulic power unit repair brands include:
- J. Vickers
- Parker
- Scheffer
- Hydro Line
Why Our Hydraulic Repair Services are Trusted
All our repairs are tested to ensure they meet factory specifications and industry standards before we leave a job. We have more than 60 years of combined experience working on production line machinery and hydraulic systems. This has earned us a good reputation as a trustworthy company.
Moreover, many of our customers have been working with us since IMS was originally started in 1994. We believe this is a testament to the quality and dependability of the service that we provide. This has seen our customers return for the same services, giving us repeat business.
What Makes Our Hydraulic Repair Services Unique
Our repair service for hydraulics is unique from the competition because we offer full service, including troubleshooting, repair installation and testing. We also sell parts in-houses, so we’re truly a one-stop-shop for all your hydraulic and general industry machine needs.
See also:
Hydraulic Pump Repair Shop
Hydraulic Pump Repair Near Me
Why Choose Us
This service is unique from the competition because we offer unmatched timely hydraulic cylinder repair services accompanied with exceptional customer service and after-repair-services. It’s our quality services, industry experience worth decades, an experienced team of hydraulic experts and a pool of state-of-the-art modern equipment, machinery and parts.
We can partner and work together long-term to ensure that your hydraulic systems run smoothly and in case of failure, get the broken components replaced as soon as possible, or get your new plant’s hydraulic system up and running. We assure you of quality services to meet your needs and great outcomes to keep you happy. After all, your happiness is our happiness and so is your success.
As such, your needs and happiness comes first. Therefore, we do what’s within our powers to provide hydraulic repair solutions tailored to meet your unique needs. We are here for you.
We offer full service, including troubleshooting, repair, installation, and testing. We also sell parts and hoses in-house, so we we’re truly a one-stop-shop for all your hydraulic cylinder needs.
We are your local hydraulic cylinder repair service provider if you’ve been searching for ‘hydraulic cylinder repair shop near me’.
Call IMS today to discuss your hydraulic cylinder repair cost.
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