Tolomatic, Inc. - Pneumatic Rodless Actuators - BC2 Series Band Cylinders

BC2 Application Guidelines

1. BC2 Carrier Bracket Bolt Adjustment

BC2 carrier bracket adjustment bolts should be adjusted to suit each individual application, depending on the degree of rigidity required. A good starting point is to tighten the nut on the bolt until there is no lateral movement of the bolt. Then, equally tighten each nut on the carrier bolt while moving the carrier by hand along the length of the stroke. When all laterall play in the carrier is eliminated and free of movement along the length of the stroke is maintained, the carrier bracket is adjusted properly. Some applications may require fine tuning of this adjustment to gain more lateral play or a higher degree of rigidity. In demanding applications, carrier adjustments should be done periodically.

2. Cushion Needle Adjustment

Adjust the cushion needles in the cylinder heads carefully to obtain a smooth, hesitation free deceleration for your particular application. If there are questions on proper adjustment, please contact Tolomatic, Inc.

3. Cushion Data Charts
NOTE: The velocities listed on the Cushion Data charts for the Band Cylinder models on this website are final or cushion impact velocities. On applications where the internal cushions or bumpers are to be used, be sure the actual, final or impact velocity is known. If the velocity is not known, use of limit switches with valve deceleration circuits or shock absorbers should be considered.

4. Lubrication Guidelines

Application Guidelines-Example of Lubrication

All Tolomatic BC2 actuators are prelubricated at the factory. To ensure maximum actuator life, the following guidelines should be followed:

Filtration: We recommend the use of dry, filtered air in our products. "Filtered air" means a level of 10 Micron or less. "Dry" means air should be free of appreciable amounts of moisture. Regular maintence of installed filters will generally keep excess moisture in check.
External Lubricators (optional): The factory prelubrication of Tolomatic actuators wil provide optimal performance without the use of external lubrication.

However, external lubricators can further extend service life of pneumatic actuators if the supply is kept constant. Oil lubricators, (mist or drop) should supply a minimum of 1 drop per 20 standard cubic feet per minute to the cylinder. As a rule of thumb, double that rate if water in the system is suspected. Demanding conditions may require more lubricant. If lubricators are used, we recommend a non-detergent, 20cP @ 140^oF 10-weight lubricant. Optimum conditions for standard cylinder operation is +32^o to +150^oF (+0^o to 65.5^oC). NOTE: Use of external lubricators may wash away the factory installed lubrication. External lubricants must be maintained in a constant supply or the result will be a dry actuator prone to premature wear.

Sanitary enviroments: Oil mist lubricators must dispense "Food Grade" lubricants to the air supply. Use fluids with ORAL LD₅₀ toxicity ratings of 35 or higher such as Multitherm^® PG-1 or equivalent. Demanding conditions can require a review of the application.

5. Final Velocity Calculation

Application Guidelines Final Velocity Graph

Velocity calculations for all rodless cylinders need to differentiate between final velocity and average velocity. For example: Stroking a 100-inch BC2 model in one second yields an average velocity of 100 inches per second. To properly determine the initial forces for cushioning, it is important to know the final (or impact) velocity. Rodless cylinders accelerate and decelerate at each end of the stroke. Therefore this acceleration must be considered (see diagram at left).

If final (or impact) velocity cannot be calculated directly, a resonable guideline is to use 2 x average velocity.

Pneumatic Rodless Actuators - BC2 Series Band Cylinders - Application Guidelines