Airpot pneumatic actuators are known for their precision and versatility in various applications. Here are some common uses:

• Damping Motion: Airpot actuators are designed to provide unparalleled damping for smooth and controlled motion.
• Precision Force Application: They are ideal for applying precise and repeatable forces, making them suitable for delicate tasks.
• Vacuum Actuation: These actuators can operate under vacuum conditions, offering flexibility in specialized environments.
• Piston Position Sensing: Some models allow for accurate sensing of piston positions, enhancing control in automated systems.
• Cleanroom Applications: With their low friction and clean operation, Airpot actuators are suitable for environments requiring minimal contamination.

Their unique design, which often includes borosilicate glass cylinders and graphite pistons, ensures low friction, high accuracy, and long life2.

12 ways an Airpot differs from other damping devices

• It has unparalleled low friction, responds to forces as low as only a few grams, and it’s smooth.
• Starting and running friction are almost identical, which prevents jerky, uncontrolled starts.
• It has a life-span of multi-millions of cycles. It outlasts most any machine in which it is used.
• No seals are required, and there are no liquids to leak.
• There is no limit to its cycle rate. It does not heat up or change viscosity under conditions of rapid and/or continuous cycling.
• It’s made of self-lubricating materials.
• It’s precise and accurate, easily adjustable over a 10,000 to one range, and it allows fine adjustments at installation.
• It’s unaffected by extreme temperature variations and high G-loads.
• The piston and cylinder will not rust, corrode, or deteriorate over time – even with little or no use over extended intervals.
• It damps bi-directionally and uni-directionally.
• It’s lightweight.
• It’s easily customized to suit space availability and the majority of special performance requirements.

It sounds much simpler than it is.

• The Airpot Dashpot is a motion damping device that reduces velocity, vibration, and oscillation in dynamic mechanisms.
• This is accomplished by using a piston to force ambient air through an orifice at a controlled rate to dissipate kinetic energy.

The benefits are worth noting:

• It prevents damage and violent or inaccurate response caused by shock and vibration in sensitive equipment and components.
• It reduces impact noise and wear.
• It provides simple, low cost, adjustable speed control without external power.
• It provides non-electrical timing capability.

What type of applications benefit most from these special capabilities?

Any kind where these conditions are present:

• Where smooth, near friction-free motion is critical.
• Where responsiveness to low forces/low kinetic energy levels is required.
• Where equipment is sensitive and precise.
• Where clean operation is important.
• Where cycle rates are high or life span needs to be long.
• Where reliability is critical.
• Where temperatures are extreme or environments are humid. Where high quality is a product feature.
• Where non-electrical motion control is advantageous.

Airpot stock self-aligning pneumatic actuators provide designers self-aligning rod capability along with extreme low friction and precise control of movement and force. This product group makes possible accurate force actuation and uniform motion with slow, smooth movement, even over distances less than 0.01 inch, or cycle rates at very high speeds up to 10 cps or more. There are a variety of rod connection choices available for easy, low friction mounting and alignment. The Airpot self-aligning Pneumatic Actuator is the most compact of the Actuator line. It is available in 6 bore sizes ranging from .22” to 1.75”, the lowest mass of all Airpot actuators and uses low friction ball joints or pin-links at both the piston and rod ends to allow the piston to self-align and reduce side loads.

Self-aligning rod capability distinguishes Airpots’s series of custom Self-Aligning Pneumatic Actuators. The use of low friction ball joints at the piston and rod end creates a self-aligning capability for the piston reducing side loads and assuring greater life. Piston rod configurations as well as stroke, mounting length, protective case and other non-standard parts and designs are available in this series. Custom Self-Aligning Pneumatic Actuators make accurate force actuation and uniform motion with slow, smooth movement possible, even over distances less than 0.01 inch, or cycle rates at very high speeds up to 10 cps or more.