Full power thanks to polygon design

Whether in automotive engineering, the packaging or food industry: powerful cylinders have to move a wide variety of workpieces with the existing line pressure. The more this can be reduced, the more energy costs are saved - and this is exactly why automation specialist SMC has developed the compact cylinders of the CQE series. Thanks to a polygonal piston design, these generate a high output force even at low pressure and achieve the performance level of models with the next larger piston diameter. Users can choose between several piston Æ for a wide range of applications and save on space and energy costs while using full power.

In countless production areas, even small components such as cylinders have to master ever greater challenges. In addition to the demands on power and robustness, those on efficiency are also increasing - ideally, components offer the same or even higher performance with less energy and space requirements. This is precisely why automation specialist SMC has developed the compact cylinders of the CQE series. The unique polygonal piston design makes it possible to reduce the line pressure without any loss, thus increasing overall efficiency. Despite lower pressure, the CQE series achieves the same nominal force as a cylinder with the same housing size at higher pressure.

Minimal size and pressure with full force at the same time

To illustrate the dimension: The theoretical nominal force of the new CQE model corresponds to that of a cylinder from the existing series that is a whole size larger. In detail, the piston area of ​​the cylinder was increased using a polygon design - and this generates forces that are up to 1.5 times higher than the previous model with the same piston diameter and the same dimensions from the existing series (piston diameter 32 at 0.5 MPa: CQ2/402 N vs. CQE/603 N).

There are moving applications (such as gripping systems) that are simply heavy due to their highly complex structure and therefore move slowly. Using CQE and the advantages described, the overall weight of the application can be significantly reduced, thus offering the possibility of running the application at higher speeds.

Maximum flexibility thanks to a wide range of solutions

The CQE series is available with piston diameters of 20, 25, 32 and 40 mm and enables designers to use a high force of up to 628 N at 0.35 MPa (Ø 40 mm) even with reduced operating pressure. In existing machines, the compact cylinders can achieve a force up to 1.5 times higher than with cylinders with the same bore size (piston diameter 32). In addition, a compact signal transmitter can be mounted (SMC D-M9*) and maintenance is minimal: the cylinder head and cover are fixed using a snap ring, which can be removed with a precision screwdriver, for example, making special tools unnecessary.