Deciding what type of hydraulic cylinder to use for your business can be a difficult task. A standard hydraulic cylinder can be ready to ship quickly, but might not deliver the best requirements. A custom hydraulic cylinder may be just what you need, but it can take time to be fabricated and delivered to your business. As an auto shop owner, you need to find the best solution so that you are able to keep your operations running smoothly and help customers get their vehicles back in a timely manner.

In this article, we’ll break down the advantages and disadvantages of both standard and custom-built hydraulic cylinders so that you can determine which is best for your applications and which should be the priority for your business.

Standard Hydraulic Cylinders

A standard hydraulic cylinder refers to the off-the-shelf models of hydraulic cylinders that are available and accessible when needed. However, these cylinders are not necessarily simplistic or basic. Instead, they can be a perfect fit for your hydraulic applications and can easily be obtained when needed. They are capable of accomplishing many basic operations and are a great, easy solution for many different industries.

A standard hydraulic cylinder can be made with any type of material, including high-end steel and other high-quality materials that work either as OEM components or OEM cylinders. If something happens to your hydraulic cylinder and you need a replacement, all you need to know is the manufacturer and product number to order a standard cylinder and get your equipment running again.

Custom-Made Hydraulic Cylinders

The alternative to the standard hydraulic cylinder is the custom-made hydraulic cylinder. These are not a standard size but instead are customized to fit your individual hydraulic cylinder needs for equipment and machines. These cylinders are developed with specific purposes, loads, and lift capabilities in mind. Because they are specially designed with specific operating conditions in mind, they can take into consideration things like climate, elevation, movements, weights, and functions that a standard hydraulic cylinder cannot.

A custom-made hydraulic cylinder can be made of virtually any material that is able to provide hydraulic functions. All of the component materials, compact design elements, mounting options, and other efficiency components can be modified to accomplish a specific purpose. You should also consider your team engineers before ordering a custom hydraulic cylinder, as certain factors like workflow, turnaround, experience, and innovations should also be taken into consideration as you search for a hydraulic cylinder option.

Advantages & Disadvantages of a Standard Hydraulic Cylinder

However, there are some distinct disadvantages to a standard hydraulic cylinder. They may need more maintenance if they are used for operations or procedures that they weren’t built to handle. You also might lack the third-party authorizations needed for certain industry standards to be met, such as in off-shore or marine industries.

Advantages & Disadvantages of a Custom Built Hydraulic Cylinder

The significant advantages of a custom built hydraulic cylinder come from the flexibility and customization benefits you can get by developing your own system. When you construct a hydraulic cylinder from scratch, you are able to build all of the specific qualities that you need for operations. Everything from component materials to mounting alternatives are part of the planning and development process, so you can specify everything you need to complete project objectives.

Another important benefit of custom built hydraulic cylinders is the durability of the end product. You can know the specific purpose of the cylinder before crafting it, so you can create a strong, durable cylinder made of the best materials for the specific purpose it will be used for. You can plan for high pressure in deep sea areas or high temperatures for use near furnaces and heat sources. This can help the cylinder last longer than a standard cylinder trying to do tasks that it wasn’t designed for.

It’s important to keep in mind, however, that there are disadvantages to using custom built hydraulic cylinders. They can be very expensive to manufacture and develop. While it could be argued that they pay for themselves over time, they still have high upfront costs that can be hard to swallow. They can also slow down operations as they take time to develop and manufacture, rather than the off the shelf options with standard hydraulic cylinders.

A custom cylinder will also need to be created by someone who has experience in engineering and designing custom hydraulic cylinders. Knowing how to balance all of the variables and create something that will work for its intended purpose is a difficult task, especially for teams that haven’t created custom hydraulic cylinders before.

Replacement Parts for Your Hydraulic Cylinder