Talk:Pneumatic cylinder

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[edit] Work needed. Made a start

There is a lot of work needed on this article. I have made a start to trying to structure, wikify and tidy the article. Will need to modify some of the wikifications to align with the existing terminology on Wikipedia. A good place for information as it's function and fundamental theory are similar is hydraulic cylinder. However, they are not identical so it is important not to just blindly copy and paste stuff unless you know it is correct and understand what it means.-*- u:Chazz/contact/t: 22:27, 6 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] "Actuator" term

In pneumatics I have always understood the term "actuator" to mean switch (i.e. an item that actuates another item) and always called a pneumatic "switch" an actuator. What's more, this is consistent with the definition from dictionary.com which is: "1. a person or thing that actuates. 2. a servomechanism that supplies and transmits a measured amount of energy for the operation of another mechanism or system.". Now, although pneumatic systems (including those with pneumatic cylinders as their end effector) can be used to turn on (or "actuate") other devices, not all do. A significant proportion, if not most, pneumatic devices just provide a force to perform a direct task (like move a car). However, in this article and Wikipedia's article on pneumatics it would appear that this term is taken to mean "pneumatic device". This usage of the term is inconsistent with the above. Anyone got ideas? -*- u:Chazz/contact/t: 22:27, 6 April 2007 (UTC)