Hydraulic Cylinders: When Failure Isn't An Option For OEMs

When hydraulic cylinders fail on heavy-duty construction equipment, work often comes to a screeching halt. That type of failure is catastrophic, even when short-lived, and directly impacts the equipment OEM's reputation if not warranty.

"When a construction machine goes down in the field, the total cost of the resulting equipment downtime and disruption to other operations may be very high," says Roy Farrell, Sales Manager at Tink Inc. (Durham, CA), a manufacturer of buckets, clamps and other hydraulically-controlled equipment installed on wheel loaders. "A hydraulic cylinder failure means that people, trucks and other equipment are also kept waiting. If that happens due to the use of a ready-made tie rod hydraulic cylinder, it reflects very negatively on the equipment manufacturer."

Farrell says his firm installs only custom, welded hydraulic cylinders on its equipment because the accurate and reliable performance they provide is critical to wheel loader operations, which usually depend heavily on hydraulic functions.

Manufactured by Turning Point Industries (Atwater, CA), those custom welded cylinders provide the accuracy, durability and lifespan that meet the rigorous requirements of Tink's applications. On average, the cylinders that Tink specs and installs will stand up to years of rigorous operation.

"Construction equipment takes a lot of abuse," says Turning Point's president, Kevin Benz. "That's why we only make welded cylinders. Every application we service is very robust. The tie rod type are light-duty, and not up to rugged applications. For example, welded cylinders are used on earth moving and subterranean mining applications, which put a lot of strain on the cylinders. Only a custom welded hydraulic cylinder will hold up to stresses like that."

Benz adds that in addition to durability the basic advantages of custom-welded hydraulic cylinders include precise tolerances, very fine internal finishing and the ability to perform with consistent accuracy. They are also serviceable, so his firm has a hydraulic seal service kit available to OEMs and dealers.

"Our vendor requirements include the ability to meet the exacting specs of our drawings and meet the required delivery schedules," Farrell says. "And when we have an urgent need for quick turnaround, Turning Point has responded very quickly, in days rather than weeks.

"It is great to have a vendor who is part of your design team, and can help you improve your cylinder performance for more demanding construction applications," Farrell adds. "For instance, together we developed cylinders with broader rod weld area, giving those cylinders super-duty strength."

In addition to construction, robust applications for Turning Point's custom welded hydraulic cylinders include agriculture, material handling, food processing, waste management, mining, road building and paving.

SOURCE: Turning Point Industries