Lightness wins

Whether for stopping, lifting or pushing workpieces: Cylinders with guide rod and front plate are used across all industries. They must not only impress with their performance and process reliability, but also score points with the smallest possible space requirement and flexible handling. Building on its experience with previous series, SMC has therefore developed the new MGPK series – a compact cylinder with guide rod and front plate that scores first and foremost for its reduced weight and dimensions. In addition, users benefit from, among other things, a greater plate thickness made of different materials for greater rigidity, various mounting and connection options, and a guide rod with grease wiper.

Small and lightweight machines have extensive advantages in production processes: for example, they offer more space for other elements in an application, enable the design of lighter equipment and can facilitate the downsizing of other components. This also applies to lifting, pushing or stopping applications using cylinders with guide rod and front plate. For this reason, automation specialist SMC has developed the MGPK series: it is significantly more compact and lighter than its predecessor, while still scoring high performance figures, offering users various options for mounting and in the connections, and has other features such as high rigidity thanks to a wider plate thickness. In addition, a lubricant storage ring on the guide rod ensures that the ingress of foreign bodies is prevented, thus achieving a high level of process reliability.

Lightness wins

For improvement, SMC has once again put the MGPK series on a diet during development. The result is a compact cylinder with a guide rod that has been reduced in volume by up to 28% compared to its predecessor, from 538 to 390 cm3 (piston diameter 32 mm, stroke 25 mm). At the same time, the weight has also been reduced - for example from 0.32 to 0.19 kg for the model with piston Ø 16 mm, stroke 10 mm, i.e. by up to 41%. This makes it possible to design more compact and lighter machines that offer more space for additional applications and enable greater system efficiency.

Despite the reduction in volume and weight, the MGPK series continues to impress with high performance figures. For example, standard strokes of 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 75, 100, 125 and 150 mm are available for the piston Æ 16 mm - and 25, 50, 75, 100, 125, 150, 175 and 200 mm for the piston Æ 32 mm. In the case of a piston Ø 16 mm and an operating pressure of 1.0 MPa, the theoretical cylinder force reaches a maximum of 201 (extending) or 151 N (retracting). In the case of a piston Ø 32 mm and an operating pressure of 1 MPa, this is max. 804 (extend) or 650 N (retract). The piston moves at a speed of 50 to 500 mm/s in each case.

More stiffness and flexibility

In the optimized design, the plate thickness has also been increased by up to 20% (from 10 to 12 mm for piston Æ 32), resulting in greater rigidity. Users can choose between carbon steel or aluminum alloy for the plate material - the latter providing an additional weight reduction. In addition, the plate's torsional tolerance is ±0.07° (piston Æ 16 mm) or ±0.05° (piston Ø 32 mm). The guide rod is also equipped with a grease wiper. This ensures that lubrication is maintained and prevents the ingress of foreign bodies - an additional plus in terms of process reliability.

Users have four options for mounting the MGPK series: from above, from below, on the base with a T-slot or from the rear. The compressed air lines can be connected either from above or from the side. Taken together, this provides a high degree of flexibility for designs. In addition, smaller signal heads (SMC's D-M9* series and D-A9* series) can be mounted directly on two surfaces.