What is a Single-Acting Cylinder?

Unlike double-acting pneumatic cylinders, single-acting pneumatic cylinders are powered by compressed air in only one direction. To move in the other direction (return), another force is used, such as gravity of the load or a spring. These cylinders are used in applications where the load will cause it to return or the load is so light that a spring can be used to return the rod.

Double- and single-acting cylinders can look very similar. The difference between a double- and a single-acting cylinder is how many ports are in the cylinder.

Here is a picture of a double-acting and a single-acting cylinder:

Here is a cut-away illustration of what a single-acting cylinder looks like:

Parker Hannifin Corporation. (1980). Industrial Pneumatic Technology. Parker Hannifin Corp. DOI: 1557690154

Single-acting cylinders can be made to power in either direction. When they are powered to extend, as shown above, they are called Single-Acting to Extend Cylinders. When they are powered to retract, they are called Single-Acting to Retract cylinders.

Unless specified otherwise, any and all work on this page is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.