10 Ways to

Increase
Hydraulic Circuit
Cycle Speed
By Bud Trinkel, Certified Fluid Power Engineer

It is frustrating when a hydraulic circuit does not

operate as fast as calculated. The pump is actually
producing design flow, piping and valves are sized at or
below rated flow, machine members are not binding, and
the control circuit is not causing delays, but, cycle time is
just short of that required. Following are things to check
before increasing pump or component size or just operating
at a slower speed.

Many maintenance related

products are available to you in
our Products Showcase

For other articles

visit our Reference
Library.

top

Need more
training?
We've got
information about
Fluid Power
training and trade
shows available to
you if you visit our
Events Calendar

During circuit design, give consideration to acceleration

and deceleration time of the actuators as well as the volume
needed to cycle them. Using actuator swept volume to size
the pump does not move it fast enough to meet the desired
cycle time. When actuators have just enough force to move
the load, acceleration, time is long. After acceleration the
actuator must move faster than figured to maintain cycle
time. Also, heavy loads usually need some deceleration time,
so reduced speed during deceleration causes more delay.
With a light actuator load, acceleration and deceleration is
fast, but still adds to overall cycle time.

top
Browse the . . .
Maintenance
Resources
Bookstore
where you'll find books on
fluid power topics.

Fig. 1
Fig. 1 shows a typical plot for a double rod end cylinder
that has 10.16 square inch area and a stroke of 20? in one
direction. At a cycle time of 6 seconds it would need 17.6
GPM to move it both ways if it ran full speed from start to
stop. GPM = Piston Area (sq. In.) X Stroke (in.) X 60

sec./Cycle Time (sec.) X 231 (cu. In./gal.). Actually the

cylinder must accelerate twice and decelerate twice each
cycle and is only half speed during this time.
When acceleration and deceleration take 1? of stroke at
each end it means the cylinder must travel at a faster speed for
the 18? between each acceleration and deceleration. In effect
the stroke increases to 22? for the GPM formula. This means
it will take a pump with 19.4 GPM flow to meet the required
cycle time of 6 seconds.
Another circuit problem that is often over looked is
cylinders with large rods. Over size rods are some times
necessary for column strength. Other uses for over size rods
are regeneration circuits and fast retract speed during the low
force portion of the stroke. In either case, flow from the cap
end of a cylinder with an over size rod can be twice as much
as pump flow or more. Also many regeneration circuits send
rod end flow through the directional valve during fast extend.
Size valves and piping for this extra flow so increased
pressure, to force fluid to regenerate and/or return oil to tank,
is not necessary. When pressure raises to overcome extra
flow resistance, a relief valve may bypass or a pressure
compensated pump might start compensating. Now a
cylinder that should extend and retract in 1.5 seconds takes
1.6 seconds.
There is always a relief valve in a circuit with a fixed
volume pump. Often during maximum flow periods, pressure
rises above relief setting and bypasses some oil to tank.
When relief valve bypass is suspect, pipe its tank line for
visual inspection. Another way to check for reduced system
flow is to put a flow meter in the line between the pump and
relief valve and another flow meter downstream of the relief
valve.
If the relief valve is a direct acting type and it is bypassing,
replace it with a pilot operated one. Direct acting relief
valves usually start bypassing some fluid 15-20% below their
set pressure. If the relief valve is already a pilot operated
type, raise pressure until bypassing stops. If the increased
pressure is too high for safety or system components, circuit
changes may be necessary.
A solenoid operated relief valve used to unload a fixed
volume pump between cycles has an adverse effect on cycle
time. A solenoid operated relief valve can take several
milliseconds to close after it receives an electrical signal.

First there is the response time of the solenoid control valve,

then, oil flowing through the relief valve control orifice must
reseat the poppet or piston to stop tank flow. This slow
response is more noticeable while unloading the pump several
times during a cycle.
According to the machine function, energize the solenoid
operated relief valve before the cycle starts and/or leave it on
during the entire operation.

Fig. 2
When a pressure compensated pump, Fig. 2, is the prime
mover, cycle starts always lag. Pressure compensated pumps,
at rest, hold full pressure but no flow. When a valve shifts to
start the cycle, pressure begins dropping. Until pressure
drops about 2-10%, the pump is still at zero flow. The pump's
mechanism finally starts to shift several milliseconds after a
cycle start signal goes to the directional valve. Soon after this
the actuator starts moving. Some pumps have longer
response time than others. Generally speaking, pressure
compensated piston pumps start shifting at less pressure drop
and shift faster than vane pumps.

Fig. 3
With an accumulator added, Fig. 3, to a pressure
compensated pump circuit, pump response time does not
change but actuator start is greatly enhanced. Oil from the
accumulator starts feeding the actuator when the directional
valve shifts. Pressure still drops and the pump starts
responding as before, but now it has time to catch up with
little or no affect on cycle time.
Any hydraulic circuit can have trapped air in the lines and
actuators. These voids or empty spaces must be filled with
oil. At cycle start, the actuator sets still until the air pockets
reach a high enough pressure to move it. At work contact,
compressing the trapped air to working pressure adds cycle
time. Air pockets add volume and volume adds cycle time.
Most of the time, air in a hydraulic circuit quickly
dissipates. If the air does not clear it will affect cycle time.
Air bleed ports at all high points in the piping and at each end
of all cylinders make bleeding fast and easy. Also, further
bleeding is easy through these bleed ports anytime the
machine slows again.

Fig. 4
Spool type directional valves with on-off solenoids have
overlap of spool land to body lands, Fig. 4. Overlap
minimizes leakage through the valve when it is pressurized.
Overlap may only be .06-.12? but it takes time for the spool to
move across it to open valve ports. After a solenoid operated
spool valve receives a signal to start an actuator, there is no
flow until the spool shifts through its overlap. In the case of a
solenoid pilot operated valve the slave spool also has to move
through overlap before the actuator can start to move. This
time is only milliseconds but adds to the overall cycle each

valve shift. It is possible to add .1-.3 seconds to the cycle

when several valves shift both directions of travel.
Spool type directional valves with on-off solenoids also
shift completely when cycled. To keep pressure drop low,
these directional valves are often over sized, so complete
shifting may not be necessary. Extra spool travel past the
point of maximum system flow does not bother actuator start
time but can add to the cycle time when the spool returns to
center or shifts to the opposite side. Decreasing spool shifting
distance can shorten cycle time when the directional valve is
oversized. Spool stroke limiters, Fig. 4, are the usual method
to shorten spool travel. Spool stroke limiters are screws in the
ends of a solenoid pilot operated valves main spool that can
adjust maximum shifting travel. Set them so the actuator
speed is maximum while over travel is minimum.
Spool stroke limiters also reduce response time as the
spool of a solenoid pilot operated valve spring returns or
shifts to the opposite side. The times here are in milliseconds,
but over shift can increase cycle time greatly when using
several valves.
Direct operated solenoid valve spools should not have
their travel stroke limited since this might cause over heating
of the coils. Most valve manufacturers, though, offer a spool
stroke limiter option on the pilot operated spool of their
solenoid pilot operated valves. Spool stroke limiters can also
replace flow controls in some applications.
Low pilot pressure at a solenoid pilot operated directional
valve is another cause for sluggish response. Most valves
need at least 50 PSI to shift against the springs and back
pressure. Higher pilot pressures up to 500 PSI make the
valves shift much quicker in all cases. Another possibility for
most of this type valve is a larger or removed orifice plug in
the pilot circuit. When pilot pressure changes throughout the
cycle, a separate constant pressure pilot circuit is advisable.
Set the pressure on this external pilot circuit at 250 to 500
PSI.
Proportional solenoid valves work well in a fast cycle
situation. They usually shift only enough to get the desired
speed and most have minimum overlap in center condition so
the actuator starts quickly.
Slip in cartridge valves are a great way of getting fast
response in high flow circuits. Slip in cartridges are normally

used on flows in excess of 60-100 GPM. Since this type of

valve is essentially a pilot to close check valve, it gives flow
the instant it moves and never opens wider than necessary
while flowing. One manufacturer now offers a D08 and a
D10 size valve with slip in cartridges to replace the standard
slave spool.
When using solenoid valves, another option that can gain
time is to replace the normal AC solenoids with DC
solenoids. A DC signal operates a solenoid when it reaches
the coil. An AC solenoid may have to wait for the alternating
current to reach at or near its peak to shift. Again the delay is
in milliseconds but does add to overall cycle time.
Some of the above may seem a little unnecessary, but
every little bit counts with fast cycle times.