Membrane Actuator

ARB · Aug 10, 2010

Years ago we made a product for a customer that used a membrane style pneumatic acutator. Essentially it was a piece of fire hose with the ends crimped shut and a fitting to add air. These were very handy for getting high amount of force in a confined area.

I have tried googling but no luck yet.

Has anyone else seen these things and know where to get them? Our customer supplied them at the time and I was not close enough to the project to learn the details.

atomarc · Aug 10, 2010

I made several of these myself for a machine I built. I purchased the hose from McMaster-Carr and fabricated the ends myself. These were hold downs positioned under a stainless pressure bar to hold wood blocks tight on a lug chain.

Western Pneumatics in Eugene, Oregon manufactures fingerjoint machines...they use this type of device in these machines. They too are made from a section of heavy hose, what looks like fire hose, and have clamps on each end as well as a fitting for pressurizing.

Very simple to make but I don't know where they are commercially available.

Stuart

Chris999 · Aug 10, 2010

Are these two of any use?

Inflatable Seals, Inflatable Clamps, Inflatable Actuators | Pawling Engineered Products

Weiler Rubber Technologies, LLC :: Products - inflatable seals & bladder

Tonytn36 · Aug 10, 2010

Festo makes these as standard items.

Festo United States - Bellows and diaphragm cylinder

ARB · Aug 11, 2010

Those are close.

Stuart.

How did you manage the fitting? Did you put it in the end clamp?

The ones that I used in the past had the fitting right in the middle of the hose. This let the membrane lay nice and flat in a very small space.

The more that I think about it the fitting may have been bonded to the hose with a thin flange on the inside.

Tony,

That muscle looks pretty slick. I will have to keep that in mind.

surplusjohn · Aug 11, 2010

it seems that one of the mfgs that make bag type cylinders make the fire hose type also, maybe Goodyear?

atomarc · Aug 11, 2010

Tony,

One end of the bag was folded over several times and had a flat, pincher type clamp attached...this was shop made.

The other end had a slug inserted into the tube and was held on by a clamp. The slug was drilled for 1/8" pipe and a Legris push on fitting was installed coupled to the small nylon supply line. Pressure never exceeded 30 PSI.

This is how the Western Pneumatic air bags are constructed so I sort of copied them. A fitting in the middle of the bag proper might be a tough deal in my mind.

Stuart

ARB · Oct 29, 2010

So I'm a dunce.

There sitting on the shelf not 4 feet away is the Greenco catalog with exactly what I wanted in it.

Linear Actuator Short Stroke Pneumatic Hydraulic Powr-Tube Greenco

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