Single & Double Acting Cylinders

Single Acting Cylinders

Single Acting ( SA Series ) Cylinders extend with air pressure and are retracted with either an enclosed spring or external mechanical source. If you are looking to utilize your machine in a linear motion and perform movements such as clamping, positioning and punching, then single acting cylinders might be your solution.

How do they work? Single acting cylinders have one port where pressurized air enters in one direction. A spring, or a load, is usually fitted to the piston. Once air is cleaned and compressed it enters through the single port forcing the piston to extend in one direction compressing the spring. The spring (or another external force) will retract the piston back to its original position after releasing air through the same port where it originally entered.

Single Acting Cylinders

Double Acting Cylinders

Double Acting ( DA Series ) Cylinders are mostly used in industrial and robotics industries. They perform tasks such as opening/closing doors and lifting and moving merchandise off conveyor belts. Other uses include medical applications, earth-moving equipment and space programs. 

When looking for a device to move a load in both directions, double acting cylinders are a useful application when your machine requires more than one movement. Unlike single acting air cylinders, double acting cylinders can extend and retract without the need of a spring. Instead of applying pressurized air into one port, double acting cylinders have two ports where air can enter in and out. 

Air enters through one port moving the piston forward and then applies pressurized air into the other port retracting the piston back to its original position. Double acting cylinders are the most widely used pneumatic actuators compared to single acting cylinders given their ability to extend and retract within a shorter time period, thus, becoming more efficient and precise.

Double Acting Cylinders

Advantages & Applications

Single Acting Cylinder

  • Simple Design & Easy to Install

  • Single Port/ Small Housing

  • Lower valve and piping cost compared to double acting cylinders

Double Acting Cylinder

  • More control over movement since pressurized air moves both ways

  • More design variations: stroke and bore sizes

  • Typically use less energy

We Can Customize Any SA or DA Cylinder

Contact us with your application type and uses. 

Leading provider of Single or Double acting cylinders in the USA and internationally.

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Contact Info

Phone: 815-654-9301
Email: cylinder@xta.com
Fax: 815-654-9426

Address

9201 Starboard Dr. Roscoe, IL 61073
Hours: Mon - Fri 8:00am - 4:30pm CST

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