Fareed Mohmed · Engineering
Pneumatic Component Selector
Load · Cylinder · Valve · FRL · Tubing · Fittings
Enter the load, the stroke, the time and the air pressure. The tool finds the cylinders that can do the job, checks the force on both strokes, the rod for buckling, the speed and the air flow, then picks the valve, the air preparation unit, the tube, the fittings, the flow controls, the silencers and the sensors that go with the cylinder you choose.
Festo, SMC, Janatics, AirTAC and Mindman cylinders. Valves, FRL and fittings from the same five makers. Sized with standard formulas and rules of thumb, not the makers’ own software. Many part numbers are built from the series pattern. Confirm the final choice against the maker’s catalogue.
Start Here: The Selection Process
Nine steps from the motion to the order, in the order the tool works. Read this once, then use sections 01 to 03. Steps with a button link to where you enter or read that step. Step 9 is done outside the tool.
Describe the motion
Write down what the cylinder must move.
- Mass to move, in kg, and how it moves: flat, vertical or on a slope
- Stroke in mm and the time you have for one stroke
- Any extra force on the working stroke, such as pressing or clamping, in N
- Cycles per minute
Fix the air pressure
The set pressure at the FRL, usually 6 bar, sets the force. Force = pressure × piston area. The cylinder never gets the full line pressure, so the tool uses the pressure you set as the pressure at the cylinder.
Work out the load
The load is the weight component along the motion, plus friction, plus the force to accelerate the mass, plus any external force. Gravity helps on a downward stroke and fights you on an upward stroke, so the extend load and the retract load are different.
See the loads in section 04 →Check the load ratio
Load ratio = load ÷ the theoretical force at your pressure. Keep it under about 70 %. Friction in the seals, pressure drop and the need to reach speed all take part of the force. Use 50 % for fast moves or precise speed control, up to 80 % for slow moves.
Check the rod for buckling
A long, thin piston rod pushing a load can bend. The longer the stroke and the smaller the rod, the lower the load it can take. The mounting changes the free length: a pivoted cylinder is much weaker than a rigid, guided one.
Check the speed and the air flow
Speed = stroke ÷ time. Flow = piston area × speed, multiplied by the pressure ratio, in normal litres per minute. The valve, the tubes and the FRL must all pass this flow, not just the cylinder.
Pick the type, then compare the brands
Section 02 shows pictures of the cylinder types: pick the one that fits your job. Section 03 lists every cylinder from every brand that passes, smallest first, with the reason each of the others fails. Click a brand to look only at that one, or click Select on a row to choose a different cylinder.
Choose the type in section 02 →Let the fittings follow
Once the cylinder is chosen, the valve is picked for its flow, the FRL for the total air demand, the tube for an air speed under 20 m/s, and then every fitting, flow control and silencer from the threads and the tube size. You can override the valve or FRL size in section 01.
See the parts list in section 04 →Order and check what the tool does not
- Rod end, mounting style, cushioning and seals for the environment
- Valve voltage, connector and manifold
- Shock absorbers when the end-of-stroke energy is high
- The exact part number from your supplier’s catalogue
Six common mistakes
Brands that make this product
Outlined gold: loaded with series and part numbers, but not with the maker’s own sizing software, so sizing uses the standard formulas for every brand. Grey dashed: not loaded yet. Many part numbers are built from the series pattern (see “Basis” in the tables). Confirm every part against the maker’s catalogue before you order.
Festopart numbers
SMCpart numbers
Janaticspart numbers
AirTACpart numbers
Mindmanpart numbers
Parkernot yet
Camozzinot yet
Norgrennot yet
Aventicsnot yetBrand names and logos are trademarks of their owners and are shown only to identify catalogues.
Application
Type the numbers and choose from the lists. The result updates as you change them. The valve, the FRL, the tubing and the fittings are chosen from the cylinder, so you only change them here when you want to force a size.
Choose The Cylinder Type
Look at the pictures and pick the type that matches your job. The tool then only compares that type. Each card says when to use it, what to watch for, and how many of its cylinders pass for the duty you entered. If you are not sure, leave it on “Show all types” and read the result. The grey cards are types that exist but are not loaded in this tool. If your job needs one of them, choose it in the maker’s catalogue.
Brands And Cylinders That Pass
Your duty is checked against every cylinder in every brand loaded. A cylinder passes when the load ratio on both strokes, the rod buckling, the speed, the valve flow and the FRL flow are all inside the limits. The card for each brand shows how many of its cylinders pass. Click a card to look at one brand, or Select on a row to see the full working and the parts for that cylinder in section 04.
Result And Parts List
Parts that follow from this cylinder
The valve is sized for the flow, the FRL for the total demand, the tube for the air speed, and each fitting from the thread and the tube. “Basis” says how sure the part number is: listed means the exact number is in a catalogue loaded here, type means it is built from the series pattern, series means only the series is known.
Brands Side By Side
For each brand, the smallest cylinder that passes and the parts that follow from it. Use it to compare what you would order from each supplier.
Calculation Steps
Every step is worked with your numbers for the cylinder shown in the result.
How It Is Calculated
Load
Weight along the motion = m × 9.81 × sin(angle). Friction = μ × m × 9.81 × cos(angle). Inertia = m × a, where a is the cruise speed divided by an acceleration time of 0.1 s (or a quarter of the move time if that is shorter). External force is added on the extend stroke only. When gravity helps, the load is reduced and never goes below zero.
Cylinder force
Force = 0.1 × p × A in N, with p in bar and A in mm². Extend uses the full piston area, retract the annulus (piston minus rod). For a single-acting cylinder the spring force is assumed to be 10 % of the force at 6 bar, because the spring data is not loaded. Use the datasheet value.
Load ratio
Load divided by the theoretical force. Seal friction and pressure drop mean that a load ratio near 100 % gives no speed control. 70 % is a common design value; 50 % for fast moves. This limit is a rule of thumb, not a value from a standard.
Rod buckling
Euler: Fcrit = π² E I ÷ Lk², with E = 210,000 N/mm² for steel, I = π d⁴ ÷ 64, and the free length Lk = factor × stroke. Factors: 0.7 rigid mount with guided load, 1.0 pivoted both ends, 2.0 rigid mount with a free load end. The tool requires a safety of 3. The overall length of the cylinder body is not included.
Speed and flow
Cruise speed v = stroke ÷ (time − acceleration time). Peak flow Q = A × v × 60 ÷ 10&sup6; × (p + 1.013) ÷ 1.013, in NL/min. The speed limit used is 1000 mm/s, a general value; the maker’s limit for a series may be lower.
Valve and FRL
The smallest valve in the loaded range whose nominal flow is above Q. The FRL is chosen the same way for Q plus the other demand. The nominal flows are the values loaded in the pneumatic circuit builder and are used as a guide; confirm against the flow data at your pressure drop.
Tube
Smallest standard tube, not below the size that suits the port, where the air speed at working pressure stays under 20 m/s. This is a common rule of thumb. Tube lengths add 10 % for cutting and routing.
Fittings, flow controls, silencers
One push-in fitting is chosen for each thread and tube pair: at the cylinder ports (or a meter-out flow control in each port), the valve outlets, the valve supply and the FRL outlet. A 5/2 valve gets two exhaust silencers, a 3/2 valve one. If the tube is larger than the thread normally takes, the tool says so and does not invent a part number.
Air use
Cylinder consumption per cycle = (A + (A − rod area)) × stroke × (p + 1.013) ÷ 1.013, in NL. The air in the lines is shown separately. Use the total to check the compressor.
AirTAC catalogue method
From the AirTAC Products Catalog 2025 (control components, preparation units and accessories). Valves: 4V110 to 4V410 (5/2 and 5/3, 1/8 to 1/2) and 3V110. The catalogue prints the effective area S in mm² (10.2, 17, 28 and 48 mm²), and the tool estimates the nominal flow as 55 × S, which is an approximation. FRL: the AC2000C and the GAC200 to GAC600 combinations. The catalogue shows flow only as charts, so the flows used are read from the chart axis at 6 bar set pressure and are on the safe side. Fittings: PC series push-in, with the thread and tube combinations the catalogue allows (it stops at tube Ø12). Speed controllers: PSL meter-out. Tube: US98A polyurethane. Silencers: BSL.
AirTAC cylinders
From the AirTAC cylinder catalogue pages supplied: SAI (ISO 15552, 32 to 200 mm), SAU and SC (32 to 100 mm), MA and MAC mini round (16 to 63 mm), SDA compact (12 to 100 mm), PB pen size (4 to 16 mm), TN twin-rod guided (10 to 32 mm), and the single-acting SSA, PSB and MPE. Bore, rod size, port, standard strokes and the largest standard stroke are read from the catalogue tables. The rod sizes of the SAI, SAU and SC follow ISO 15552, and the SC page shows the same figures. For the single-acting cylinders, the spring force is worked out as the double-acting force minus the printed single-acting force at 0.7 MPa. The MPE prints its return force, and for the others it is taken as 40 % of that figure because the catalogue does not print it. Part numbers follow the ordering codes (for example SC50X100S for a magnetic piston) and are marked type, not listed. Mounting, rod end, seal material and thread codes are not added. TR (JIS twin-rod), SAD, SAJ and the other variants are not loaded.
Mindman catalogue method
From the Mindman catalogue E1 (cylinders, valves, air preparation) and E2 (fittings, tube, silencers) 2020-21. Cylinders: bore, rod, port, standard strokes, largest stroke, pressure range and speed limit are read from the tables. Mindman prints no spring force for its single-acting cylinders, so the tool assumes it as it does for other makers. Valves: MVSC 5/2 and 3/2 from M5 to 1/2. The catalogue prints the effective area S (mm²) and Cv only, so the nominal flow is estimated as 55 × S. Service units: MACP filter-regulator-lubricator. No rated flow is printed, so the flows used are about 57 % of the flow-chart axis maximum, which is an estimate. Fittings and speed controllers are the PISCO PC and JSC series sold by Mindman; their threads are R (taper) male, and Mindman ports are Rc by default, so they match. There is no G thread code. Tube: UM, for Ø4 to 12 only. Silencers: MSL. Order codes are built from the ordering examples, assuming that an unused option is left out together with its dash, so confirm with Mindman before ordering. The rod-lock cylinders work only at 3 to 6 bar.
What is not covered
Cushioning energy rating, side loads on the rod, mounting style and accessories, valve manifolds, vacuum, hydraulic dampers, clean room and ATEX, temperature, and the exact part number of any brand.
Data Used
The cylinders, valves and FRLs the tool can pick from.
Part numbers and flows are those loaded in the Pneumatic Circuit Builder. They are a guide, not the maker’s sizing.