page_title: Pneumatic cylinder
section_title: Multi-stage, telescoping cylinder
hierarchical_section_title: Pneumatic cylinder / Types / Multi-stage, telescoping cylinder
caption_attribution_description: English: 8-stage, single-acting, telescoping pneumatic cylinder; retracted and extended.
context_page_description: Pneumatic cylinder are mechanical devices which use the power of compressed gas to produce a force in a reciprocating linear motion.
  Like hydraulic cylinders, something forces a piston to move in the desired direction. The piston is a disc or cylinder, and the piston rod transfers the force it develops to the object to be moved. Engineers sometimes prefer to use pneumatics because they are quieter, cleaner, and do not require large amounts of space for fluid storage.
  Because the operating fluid is a gas, leakage from a pneumatic cylinder will not drip out and contaminate the surroundings, making pneumatics more desirable where cleanliness is a requirement. For example, in the mechanical puppets of the Disney Tiki Room, pneumatics are used to prevent fluid from dripping onto people below the puppets.
context_section_description: Telescoping cylinders, also known as telescopic cylinders can be either single or double-acting.  The telescoping cylinder incorporates a piston rod nested within a series of hollow stages of increasing diameter.  Upon actuation, the piston rod and each succeeding stage "telescopes" out as a segmented piston.  The main benefit of this design is the allowance for a notably longer stroke than would be achieved with a single-stage cylinder of the same collapsed (retracted) length.  One cited drawback to telescoping cylinders is the increased potential for piston flexion due to the segmented piston design.  Consequently, telescoping cylinders are primarily utilized in applications where the piston bears minimal side loading.
caption: pneumatic telescoping cylinder, 8-stages, single-acting, retracted and extended
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