Airpot Corporation

Airpot Corporation is the world's leading manufacturer of ultra low friction, super-responsive pneumatic piston and cylinder motion dampers and actuators. Airpot`s unique seal-less construction and combination of materials allow unsurpassed longevity, high cycle rates without lubricants, smooth operation at extreme temperatures and instrument quality performance for low to medium force and energy levels.

Common Applications

Semiconductor & IC processing equipment
Web/wire/filament tension controls
Test & measurement instruments automated medical analysers
Dispensing & vending machines
High capacity mail & cash handling equipment
Customised uses for our pistons & cylinders

Product Family

Airpot Corporation manufactures instrument quality, precision air dashpots, snubbers, pneumatic actuators, and Airpel Anti-Stiction Air Cylinders. All of their devices are built using a graphite piston / borosilicate glass cylinder combination in which each piston is selectively matched to fit the cylinder with extremely close tolerances. (These are also sold as piston/cylinder sets).


Dashpots	Air Cylinders	Air Bearings	Actuators	Snubbers	Piston/Cylinder Sets

Airpot products offer the following benefits over other pneumatic piston /cylinder based motion control devices:

They have unparalleled low friction, responding to forces as low as only a few grams and pressures less than 0.2 psi.
Starting and running friction are almost identical, preventing jerky, uncontrolled starts and providing uniform smoothness throughout the full stroke of the device.
They are unaffected by extreme temperature variations
They run clean and do not contaminate surrounding components.
No seals are required, and there are no liquids to leak.
They are made of self-lubricating materials.
They can withstand exceedingly high cycle rates. They do not heat up or change viscosity under conditions of rapid and/or continuous cycling
They have a life-span of multi-millions of cycles. They will commonly outlast the machines in which they are used.
The piston and cylinder will not rust, corrode, or deteriorate over time, even with little or no use over extended intervals.
They are precise and accurate
They can be customized easily to suit special space, mounting, and performance requirements

Airpel & Airpot Pneumatic Actuators

Airpel and Airpot Pneumatic Actuators.jpg

Airpot manufactures four basic types of pneumatic actuators.

They are manufactured with Airpot`s unique combination of a borosilicate glass cylinder and either a graphite or specially shaped stainless steel piston which gives them unparalleled performance with respect to friction, cleanliness, and temperature range.

Vastly superior to conventional cylinders Airpel Pneumatic Actuators are ideal for:

Applying a Precise Force
Repeatable Motive or Counterbalancing Force
Gentle or Precise Holding or Squeezing Force (as low as a few grams)
Actuation with Uniform Motion
Slow and Smooth Movements (even distances less than 0.1")
Cycle at High Speeds (up to 100cps)

Airpot Self-Aligning Pneumatic Actuators

This range has been designed for space savings and low mass and includes mini air cylinder configurations. They only may be actuated with pressure in the extension direction, but their very low friction allows them to vacuum actuate or be spring returned for retraction.

Click here to view the Stock Range

Click here to build your Custom Actuator

Airpel Anti Stiction Cylinders

1331_AirpelPlusFamily4 Airpel cylinders differ from the Airpot range as they are available in double acting configurations that can actuate from either end. They have a robust stainless steel outer case, come in double rod models and the cylinder can pivot. Also available are models with one way pressurisation and spring retraction

Airpel Anti-Stiction cylinders

Airpel Plus

The Airpel Plus model offers less than 25% of the friction of the Airpel and is designed to be pressurized in the extension direction only. It is a hybrid design that uses the same mounting construction and some of the internal design elements of our top-of-the-line Airpel-AB.

Airpel Plus

Airpel-AB

The Airpel-AB line offers the ultimate in accurate force control, responsiveness, cleanliness, and long life. Unlike Airpot`s other actuators, the Airpel-AB uses a specially shaped steel piston that becomes an air bearing when the cylinder is pressurized to provide pneumatic actuation. The air bearing technology keeps the piston from touching the cylinder walls as long as the correct minimum pressure is maintained. This essentially delivers ZERO friction in the piston’s motion. In addition, the piston and cylinder never wear out and never produce any contaminants. This means that the Airpel-AB provides the smoothest motion, greatest force accuracy, and longest life of any air cylinder on the market. Although the Airpel-AB is limited to applying friction- free force only in the extension direction, it is ideal for counterbalancing, tension control, and applications requiring extremely accurate applied forces with high resolution and repeatability, even to within 0.5 gram.

Airpel-AB air bearing cylinders

Position Sensing for Airpel Anti Stiction Cylinders

If you require electrical output of piston position then some Airpel models are offered with a switch activating magnet on the piston. You can add up to four aluminum tracks to the cylinder for multiple positioning. The aluminium tracks are specially design for easy and secure mounting of Sick Inc GMR (Giant Magnet Resistive) Sensors . The tracks are come permanently bonded along the whole length and position(s) are nominated when ordering the sensor ready Airpel.

The GramForce® Gripper

Airpot has released the sleek new GramForce® gripper where you'll find all the features of Airpot's family of Accurate Force Pneumatic products and more. The GramForce® gripper is perfect where the parts you need to work with are exceedingly fragile, soft, delicate, or sensitive. With the GramForce® gripper they can be accurately and safely grasped, held, or positioned with this clever gripper. It's ideal for precision assembly equipment, test and measurement devices, robotic arm end-effectors, small parts handling, and the most delicate of machining operations. The GramForce® gripper is powerfully tough on the inside but with a grip as gentle as the flutter of a butterfly`s wings. Its stainless steel mounting blocks accommodate finger lengths up to 75 mm. And combined with its synchronous and parallel design, it is counterbalanced to provide unchanging gripping force in any mounting orientation.

Features	Benefits
Minute friction levels	More air efficiency & smoother operation
Accuracy	Less product waste and
Wide operating temperature range	More application flexibility
Repeatability you can depend on, time after time, for millions of times	Production consistency and performance
Pre lubricated for life	No lubrication - Maintenance free
Compact size & light weight (205 grams)	Space saving, free up design constraints
Operational pressure range 0.02 MPa to 0.7 MPa	Low air consumption
Holding forces as low as 0.25 N up to 8.6 N	Protection for fragile components

Airpot Precision Dashpots

If you need to minimise or remove harmful or excessive motion, Airpot Dashpots deliver a highly accurate motion control.

Vibration Damping
Spring Damping
Solenoid Damping
Free Fall Velocity Control

The precision glass cylinder and graphite piston produces instrument quality pneumatic devices which provides accurate, repeatable force control. Airpot has a family of damping devices that operate with superior accuracy and with little or no friction. Using ambient air to precisely and accurately control force, velocity and impact-they are ideal for designing and improving product lines or for the manufacture of specialised equipment for research, high level testing and or precision assembly. Airpot dashpots are available in 6 bore diameters .22"-1.75", push-pull or 2 way damping and strokes from 0.5"-3".

Airpot Dashpot Range Click here to view the Stock Dashpot Range

Click here to build your Custom Dashpot

Snubbers (Pneumatic Shock Absorbers)

If you need to control deceleration at the end of the stroke of your mechanism then the Airpot Snubber range may be the perfect product for your application. The Airpot Snubber performs push damping only over a wide range of low to moderate energy applications where accurate control of impact, damping or shock absorption is required. The Airpot Snubber achieves this by forcing ambient air through an adjustable orifice at a controlled rate, dissipating kinetic energy, reducing impact, noise and wear.

Airpot’s snubbers are specifically designed to provide unparalleled energy dissipation accuracy by eliminating friction from their working elements. The materials used have built-in lubricity, high strength-to-weight ratio, excellent stability under temperature/humidity extremes, close coefficients of thermal expansion, and non-deteriorating performance due to age or non-use. The basic parts are a graphitized carbon piston, precision ground to millionths of an inch TIR inside an annealed, borosilicate glass cylinder with a precision fire-polished bore. Airpot snubbers are available in 4 bore sizes ranging from 0.627” to 1.75” and strokes lengths of 1.1” to 2.3”

Snubber features (pneumatic shock absorption devices):

Not connected to the damped mass they are working with
Used in accurate end of stroke and shock absorption applications
Primary function is energy dissipation
One way only,(damping in compression)
Low force return spring for self resetting

Various snubber sizes Click here to view the Airpot Snubber Range

Piston Cylinder Sets

Airpot Corp’s piston and cylinder kits make great building blocks for engineers who have need for customized mechanical or pneumatic devices. The Cylinder Sets feature Airpot’s borosilicate glass cylinder and graphite piston material technology which allows the use of extremely tight tolerances to achieve a high precision fit and control of leak while offering a seal-less, self -lubricating pneumatic or light-load bearing device. Each piston and cylinder set is individually matched for optimal performance. The ultra low friction pistons will respond to single gram forces and low pressures of less than 0.2 psi. Stiction is virtually eliminated, meaning nearly identical starting and running friction, and movement that is uniformly smooth and consistent from the start and throughout the full stroke cycle.

Unaffected by extreme temperature variations, Airpot piston and cylinder sets run clean and do not contaminate surrounding components. No piston seals are required, and there are no liquids or lubricants to leak. Materials used are capable of exceedingly high cycle rates. They do not heat up or materially change under conditions of rapid and/or continuous cycling and have a life-span of multi-millions of cycles.

Designers use Airpot piston and cylinder kits as linear bearings, vacuum pickups, inertia sensors, portable piston pumps, position sensors, spool valves, flow indicators, pressure sensors, dispensers, pneumatic calibration devices, Stirling Engine power pistons, and for many other demanding applications. Airpot piston and cylinder kits exhibit very low mass, no deterioration or change in performance due to age or non-use, have the ability to move linearly and rotationally simultaneously, and use a clear, see-through cylinder. When driven by pressurized air, maximum performance can be enhanced when used in conjunction with Airpot’s precision FFR low pressure filter/regulator products.

The cylinders are available in bore sizes ranging from 0.220” to 1.75”, and lengths from the desired stroke plus 0.325” to the desired stroke plus 0.880”. All models exhibit friction of less than 1 gram (in the absence of side loads).

Click here for Stock Airpot Piston Cylinder Sets

Click here for Custom Airpot Piston Cylinder Sets

E/P (Electro-Pneumatic) Transducers

For the most accurate control of Airpot`s family of low stiction cylinders and actuators look no further than their range of miniature E/P transducers.

Self Correcting
Closed Loop Feedback
Precise, Responsive and Stable Pressure

Download the Specification Sheet

Airpel - FFR Filter (Filter-Filter Regulator)

Airpot’s precision air regulator systems (FFR) offers precise control,optimal air quality and properly sized components that will allow you to get the most from Airpot’s Anti Stiction® and low friction technology. Each Airpel filter / precision air regulator system (FFR) is a complete modular air preparation system composed of components selected by Airpot® engineers, based on years of application experience with low friction accurate force pneumatic motion control products. These systems are especially suited for use with Airpot actuators and Airpel cylinders where low friction/low hysteresis, sensitive response, long life, clean operation, and extreme temperatures are critical requirements.

Offered in both compact and standard configurations for moderate and high flow, Airpel-FFR systems are available with standard or precision air regulators for precise control and sensitivity for the most demanding applications, even those in which very low speed, and /or low pressure regulator requirements exist. All FFR systems are equipped with dual filtration modules that remove particles, dust, oil, moisture and mist down to 0.01 micron assuring that the recommended quality of clean, dry compressed air is delivered to the actuators and cylinders and assuring greater filtration than commonly used precision FRL systems.

FFR system Features

Compact and high flow versions with both standard and high precision air Regulators
Compact and modular, 40 mm x 40 mm envelope per component (compact systems)
Simple, two fastener bracket attachment system
Components can be easily upgraded or rearranged
Port connections are available with NPT or G threads

Regulators Features

Standard and high precision
Manual pressure adjustment
No tools required
Push to lock operation (standard regulators)
Low pressure regulator range of 0.005 to 0.7 MPa and a sensitivity within 0.1% of the full scale (high precision regulators)

Filters Features

Two stage filtration system comprised of a 5 micron particle filter and a 0.01 micron oil/water mist filter
Media transitions from coarse outer surface to fine interior structure to reduce clogging, prolonging element life
Corrosion resistant filter bowl guard
Easy to replace filter elements

Gauges Features

Highly visible, field adjustable limit marks (high precision air regulators)
Flat face, non protruding gauge design (standard regulators)
MPa or psi display

Click here for Compact System Specifications

Click here for High Flow System Specifications

Application Examples

Velocity Control of Solenoids	Velocity of Control Spring Loaded Mechanisms	Velocity Control of Falling Mass

Creating Time Delay	Oscillating Valve Damping	Limiting Overacting

Vibration Damping	Cushioning Impact