Cylinders with Displacement Encoders

Festo Cylinders with Displacement Encoders

These cylinders are designed to integrate a displacement encoder directly into the pneumatic drive—providing real-time position feedback, high repeatability, and full integration into servo-pneumatic or motion-control architectures. The encoder enables the cylinder to act not only as a simple actuator but also as a controlled axis for positioning and measurement tasks.

They cover a broad range of formats—including piston-rod cylinders, rodless cylinders and rotary drives—with integrated potentiometers or contactless encoders, enabling stroke lengths from approximately 100 mm up to 2000 mm and bore diameters from 18 mm to 100 mm. 

Design & Functionality

• These cylinders feature an integrated displacement encoder, either as a potentiometer or contactless measurement technology, enabling precise determination of piston or carriage position.
• Major benefits include:
  • Servo-pneumatic drive capability, combining pneumatic motion with electrical position feedback for closed-loop control. 
  • Integrated Soft-Stop and positioning functionality, enabling gentle deceleration and precise stops at defined positions.
  • Wide format coverage, from compact cylinders to long-stroke drives, with stroke lengths up to ~2000 mm and diameters 18–100 mm. 
• These unit types allow pneumatics to behave as a motion axis—giving advantages of clean pneumatic power combined with precise feedback.

⭐ Important: The inclusion of the displacement encoder transforms the cylinder from a simple actuator into a measuring and positioning device, opening up machinery tasks typically reserved for servo systems.

Total Crossed Beams

(Concept applied: full stroke measurement coverage rather than literal beams)

• The integrated encoder covers the entire stroke length, giving accurate position feedback from start to finish.
• This ensures complete control of travel, reduced overshoot, and improved cycle reliability.

Beam Pitch Options

(Translated as bore/stroke and format variants)

• Bore sizes: 18 mm … 100 mm
• Stroke lengths: ~100 mm … ~2000 mm
• Formats: piston-rod, rodless, rotary (semi-rotary)
  ⭐ Important: The wide range enables application-specific selection—from compact short-stroke tasks to long-travel positioning axes.

Intrinsic Synchronism

• The internal encoder and piston/cylinder assembly are synchronised inherently—no external encoder mounting or calibration required.
• This yields high repeatability, simplified installation, and reliable feedback for automated systems.

Operational Advantages

• Precise position feedback, enabling controlled motion rather than just end-stop switching.
• Servo-pneumatic compatibility, allowing integration into motion-control or fieldbus platforms.
• Reduced machine complexity, since pneumatic drive and encoder feedback are in one unit.
• High repeatability and automation grade performance, ideal for packaging, assembly, and handling systems.
• Applications: Position control of cylinder actuation, measurement of piston or carriage travel, Soft-Stop applications, servo-pneumatic axes in factory automation.