Custom Lift Cylinder
Engineering
OEM · Special · Non-Standard

01

Required extension force (N or kN) — at what position in the stroke?

02

Required retraction force (if double-acting) — same question

03

System operating pressure (MPa) and maximum allowable pressure

04

Required stroke (mm) — from pin centre to pin centre or shoulder to shoulder?

05

Maximum collapsed length and maximum extended length available in the machine envelope

06

Mounting configuration: eye both ends, flange cap end, trunnion, clevis — pin diameter and width

07

Port size and type (BSPP, BSPT, SAE, metric) and port position on the cylinder body

08

Hydraulic fluid type (mineral ISO 46, HFC, phosphate-ester, biodegradable) and operating temperature range

09

External environment: indoor/outdoor, corrosion class, proximity to water or chemicals

10

Duty cycle: expected cycles per day, duty frequency, and expected annual operating hours

11

Side loads or bending moments — does the cylinder carry any non-axial forces?

12

Annual volume required and target price point — drives tooling investment decisions

STAGE 1
1–3 days

Engineering Review

Specification is reviewed by an application engineer who verifies the force and pressure calculations, checks for geometric conflicts in the collapsed/extended envelope, and identifies any technical questions that must be answered before a compliant design can be produced. A detailed technical questionnaire is returned within 1–3 working days if clarification is needed.

STAGE 2
3–5 Tage

Design and Drawing

A dimensioned 2D drawing and 3D CAD model is produced. The drawing is issued to the customer for approval — the customer verifies that all dimensions, port positions, and mounting geometry fit the machine design. This is the only opportunity to change the lift cylinder geometry without incurring machining cost; changes after approval of the drawing are treated as a new revision and may restart the prototype timeline.

STAGE 3
3–5 weeks

First-Article Manufacture

The prototype is manufactured against the approved drawing. Custom tooling (honing mandrels, port thread taps, seal installation tools) is produced as required. A dimensional inspection report confirms all drawing dimensions have been achieved. It is then pressure-tested to 1.5× rated working pressure and the result documented.

STAGE 4
2–6 weeks

Customer Qualification

The prototype lift cylinder is installed in the customer’s machine. Function testing verifies that extension force, retraction force, stroke, and speed meet the specification. Endurance testing — if required by the application — runs the lift cylinder for the required cycle count before production approval is given. Any design changes identified during qualification trigger a drawing revision and a second prototype build.

STAGE 5
Ongoing

Drawing Lock and Series Production

Once qualification is complete and the drawing is approved, a controlled drawing is issued with a revision number and effective date. This drawing is the manufacturing standard for all series production lift cylinders. No manufacturing changes are made without issuing a new drawing revision and obtaining customer approval — ensuring that production cylinders always match the qualified prototype specification.

Frage 01

What is the minimum order quantity for a custom lift cylinder?

There is no fixed minimum order quantity for a custom lift cylinder, but the economics of custom production change significantly with volume. For prototypes and low-volume specialised applications (1–10 units per year), the custom tooling and engineering costs are amortised across a small quantity, making the unit price significantly higher than a standard catalogue cylinder of equivalent specification. For OEM volumes of 50–200 units per year, the tooling investment is typically recovered within the first year and unit costs approach standard catalogue pricing at the equivalent specification. Below about 5 units total lifetime volume, the customer should seriously evaluate whether the machine design can be adapted to fit a standard catalogue lift cylinder before committing to a custom programme — in most cases, a machine design modification is more cost-effective than a custom cylinder at very low quantities.

Frage 02

Can I have a custom lift cylinder with both a non-standard bore and an integrated counterbalance valve?

Yes — custom lift cylinders can combine multiple non-standard features in a single design. The engineering sequence is: agree on bore and stroke from force and envelope requirements, then mounting configuration, then integrated valve functions. Integrating a counterbalance valve into a non-standard bore lift cylinder requires that the valve’s flow capacity is correctly matched to the cylinder bore and the expected flow rate at the target extension and retraction speed. An undersized counterbalance valve orifice will restrict flow and slow the lift cylinder; an oversized valve may not provide adequate back-pressure for load stability. The application engineer will calculate the required valve Cv specification as part of the custom design review, and the valve setting will be verified during the functional cycle test on the prototype.

Frage 03

How do I protect my custom lift cylinder design from being copied or supplied to a competitor?

Custom lift cylinder designs can be protected through a combination of commercial and legal mechanisms. The most effective commercial protection is a supply agreement that designates the specific lift cylinder drawing as proprietary to the OEM customer — meaning it will not be supplied to any third party without the customer’s written consent. This agreement should be established before the design process begins, not after the prototype is complete. The customer retains ownership of any drawings or specifications they provide; the manufacturer’s engineering input — where it is original design work beyond adapting the customer’s concept — may be subject to negotiation, and this intellectual property allocation should be explicitly agreed in writing. For lift cylinder designs with genuinely novel features, patent protection may be appropriate; consult an intellectual property attorney to assess whether the specific design features are patentable in the relevant markets before disclosing them without a non-disclosure agreement in place.

Frage 04

What information do I need to provide for a custom telescopic lift cylinder design?

Custom telescopic lift cylinder specifications require the twelve standard parameters (Section 3) plus four additional items specific to telescopic design: the required collapsed length (the maximum body length when all stages are fully retracted), the required extended length (the minimum distance from the body base to the tip of the fully extended innermost stage), the preferred number of stages (which is driven by the ratio of collapsed to extended length — a 5:1 ratio typically requires a 4-stage telescope), and the required stage sequencing if specific extension order matters for the application. For a tipper truck front-top configuration, also provide the body length, A-frame height, and target tip angle so that the stroke can be calculated from first principles rather than estimated. A preliminary machine envelope drawing — even a hand sketch with key dimensions — is the single most useful input for a telescopic custom design enquiry.