A compact cylinder is a small round-body pneumatic actuator with a short stroke and a body length typically 1/3 to 1/2 that of an ISO 15552 cylinder at the same bore. It is the workhorse of small automation — fixture tooling, jigs, conveyor stops, parts clamping, robot EOAT (end-of-arm tooling — the gripper or vacuum cup at the wrist of a robot arm). A typical packaging machine carries 30-80 compact cylinders against maybe 4-8 ISO or NFPA cylinders. The body is a sealed crimped assembly, so compact cylinders are not field-rebuildable; on seal failure they are replaced. They handle axial loads only — side load destroys the short rod-bearing surface within months, so any side-load application needs the guided/non-rotating variant or an external linear guide.
Tips and pointers on when a compact cylinder is the right pick — and when to spec a different family. Scroll the strip →
A 32mm compact runs ~1.5 inches of body length vs. 4-5 inches for ISO 15552 at the same bore. Thirty cylinders pack into a foot-square fixture footprint — the geometry that makes modern packaging machines, robot EOAT, and dense jigs possible at all.
A typical packaging machine carries 30-80 compact cylinders against maybe 4-8 ISO or NFPA. Once the part number is captured into MRO, replacement runs on calendar: a 50-cylinder machine on a 5-year cycle = 10 reorders/year indefinitely.
Compact body is a sealed crimped assembly — not field-rebuildable. A new compact ($40-200) is cheaper than rebuild labor on an equivalent ISO. Replace on seal failure (3-7 years on continuous duty); don't hunt for kits that don't exist.
The short body = short rod-bearing surface = essentially zero side-load tolerance. Any off-axis push, guided motion, or eccentric attachment scores the rod within months. If side load exists → switch to the guided / non-rotating variant or pair with an external linear guide.
Compact is engineered for short stroke — over-stroking defeats the small-footprint purpose and runs out of body length. → Re-spec to ISO 15552 for mid-stroke 100-500mm work, or rodless above 300-600mm.
No seal kits exist for compact — labor to attempt a rebuild exceeds the new-cylinder price. → Switch to ISO 15552 or NFPA tie-rod when the customer's service model is rebuild-on-failure rather than replace-on-failure.
Compact tops out around 100mm on light-duty service. → Re-spec to NFPA tie-rod (1.5"-14" bore) for North American heavy-duty work, or heavy-duty cast for press / forming / foundry environments.
From the machine spec sheet → to the part number. Answer what you know — leave the rest blank — and send.
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Compact is the high-volume cylinder line. Customers don't buy one — they buy 20 at a time for a fixture build or 200 a year across a multi-machine plant. Get the cylinder model into MRO and the reorder line runs itself.
Each industry below uses this product across the listed areas. Open an industry to see how it fits the rest of its system.
Food & Beverage Processing → 
Pharmaceutical, Medical Device & Laboratory → 
Packaging & Printing → 
Material Handling & Conveyors → Also applies to Fixture tooling and assembly jigs · The largest install volume · Robot end-of-arm tooling (EOAT) · Small-part clamping and parts-presence verification · Position-switch integration is mandatory · Test stands and inspection equipment · Pneumatic-actuated valves and process equipment
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O) is the default. Compact cylinders accept speed controllers in M3, M5, 1/8", 1/4" NPT depending on bore. Without speed control the cylinder slams its end-of-stroke on first power-on.
Compact cylinders are sold in volume. Stock pack sizes of 5, 10, or 25 of the same SKU on the customer's MRO shelf — compact isn't rebuildable, so replacement spares onsite means production doesn't wait on a parts order. A 50-cylinder machine on a 5-year cycle generates 10 cylinder reorders per year.
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