8/25/2019 Hydraulic symbology 206 – motors and actuators

 

Hydraulic symbology 206 – motors and actuators

By Mary Gannon | August 20, 2019

 By Josh Cosford, Contributing Editor

The symbols for hydraulic motors, especially in their simpler forms, are very similar to those of hydraulic
pumps. If you haven’t already had the chance, see my article on pumps symbols here rst. The directional
arrow that points inward to accept uid power energy is the primary di erence between pump and motor
symbols, and in Figure 1 you can see the simple xed displacement, unidirectional hydraulic motor.

The shaft symbol may or not be present in a schematic, as with the rotation direction arrow. The shaft
symbol may even include a symbolic depiction of the device being rotated, such as a wheel or a drum. Always
remember although there are ANSI and ISO standards for drawing schematics, the engineer or designer may
draw a circuit as they wish, so you may come encounter modi ed or unknown symbols.

Figure 1. Hydraulic motors symbology

The second symbol stands for the variable displacement bi-rotational motor. The dark triangle depicting the
direction of hydraulic energy is now diametrically opposed to indicate the motor takes uid from both ports.
If it’s not plain enough already, the shaft has bidirectional rotation arrows bent around the shaft as well. You
will also notice both ports are now open to ow rather than one that terminates at the tank as the rst
symbol. Finally, the tell-tale variable arrow dissects the circle, showing us the motor has a variable
displacement, although telling us nothing of how that might occur.
https://www.fluidpowerworld.com/hydraulic-symbology-206-motors-and-actuators/ 1/17
8/25/2019 Hydraulic symbology 206 – motors and actuators

The nal symbol of Figure 1 is just like the last, save for two slight di erences. The dark ow triangles are
 atop each other and in opposing directions. This con guration represents a unit capable of both
stacked
pumping and absorbing hydraulic energy, or more succinctly, the variable displacement, bi-rotational pump-
motor. Used in few locations other than a drive application, such as the clever hydraulic hybrid applications
for dump trucks or loaders, where stopping energy can be fed back into the system and stored in an
accumulator.

Motor controls, aside from hydrostatic drives, are not usually overly complicated. The variable displacement,
bi-rotational hydraulic motor shown on the left in Figure 2 has everything the earlier one did save the case
drain line. Being a simpli ed symbol, as most uid power symbols are, it gives you basic details on what it
does but doesn’t provide the scope of performance, the method of construction or dimensional envelope.
The apparent mess of lines and shapes to the right does, in fact, break down the method of operation, at the
very least.

Figure 2. Variable displacement, bi-rotational hydraulic motor

By this point, the motor symbol needs no explanation, so we’ll skip that part. Denotations (a) and (b) are the
work ports, which are the common characters used to denote work ports, even on the directional valves as
well. Each work port terminates not only at the motor ports but also at the (c) component, which is called a

https://www.fluidpowerworld.com/hydraulic-symbology-206-motors-and-actuators/ 2/17
8/25/2019 Hydraulic symbology 206 – motors and actuators

shuttle valve. The shuttle valve is a 3-port check valve that always provides a ow path for the higher of the
work ports. In this case, work pressure is coming from port (a), so the check valve shuts o port (b) due
two 
to pressure di erential.

The part looking like a spring-retracted cylinder can be considered as such, and this is the object primarily
responsible for controlling motor displacement, which in turn will change torque and speed. The spring
keeps the bias piston retracted, providing the motor with full displacement until told otherwise. How it gets
told otherwise is through the pilot valve operated 3/2 valve shown at (g). In its neutral state, it provides a ow
path to tank for the bias piston so that motor’s tendency is full ow.

When a pilot valve somewhere upstream of (x) is activated, uid enters the pilot chamber of the 3/2 valve (g),
where it shifts to provide pilot energy sourced from the shuttle valve (c) to the bias piston. The bias piston
now shifts fully, reducing the swashplate angle to reduce ow. Just how low the displacement goes is dictated
by the tiny stroke limiter (e), which is just an adjustment screw that prevents the swashplate from reducing its
angle further. The ori ce at (f) is used to dampen the actions of the pilot energy working to move the bias
piston. Without this ori ce, the pump may shift too quickly or be susceptible to work pressure uctuations
coming from ports (a) or (b).

A motor such as this might be used as a two-speed transmission. The full ow, large angle of the swashplate
provides higher torque yet slower speed while shifting the pilot valve energizes the bias piston, reducing
swashplate angle to reduce displacement, therefore increasing speed while lowering torque. The shuttle
valve ensures pilot energy is available regardless of motor rotation direction, however, it should be noted
that the pilot valve could instead be a mechanical lever or some sort of torque limiting valve.

The standard hydraulic cylinder depicted way back in Hydraulic Symbology 102 is as clean and pure as one
can ask, but you’d be surprised at the number of ways a cylinder can be drawn (and therefore constructed).
Where possible in these examples, I’ve made a wide piston rather than the single line in previous examples,
and also shown the rod as a long rectangle as well. For some of these examples, it is required to make sense
of the symbol, so I used it across the board for the purpose of consistency.

Figure 3. Hydraulic cylinder symbols

The Double Rod Cylinder is quite easy to understand. Instead of a single head, cap and rod, this component
now has two rods joined by a common piston and is then guided through two heads. This symbol looks very

https://www.fluidpowerworld.com/hydraulic-symbology-206-motors-and-actuators/ 3/17
8/25/2019 Hydraulic symbology 206 – motors and actuators

much like its construction, at least from the point of view of the piston rod assembly.
 
The Spring Retract Cylinder is another that takes little to decode. It starts by looking much like a regular
cylinder symbol, but now with a giant spring placed in the annular (rod side) area of the cylinder. Imagine now
that pressure is applied to the cap side and the piston starts to extend. As it does, the spring compresses in
an attempt to once again retract the cylinder without the help of rod side hydraulic energy. When pressure is
relieved from the cap side, the cylinder retracts using the compressed energy stored within the spring.

Although more common with pneumatic applications, the double rod inside the Guided Cylinder still exits
through a single head, which is machined for two parallel rods. The Guided Cylinder is used where rotation of
the rod cannot occur, and is also called a Non-Rotating Cylinder.

A ram is a hydraulic cylinder with one uid port on a tube that is stu ed with a rod. The rod is typically a large
diameter relative to the body because the base of the rod also performs as the piston. So if your ram has a 4-
in. rod, then your ram has a 4-in. piston. The port can be drawn nearly anywhere on a ram because uid
coming in the side will still extend the cylinder, as uid pressurizing the rod radially has no e ect on it.

Looking complex at rst, the Single Acting Telescopic cylinder uses multiple stages of nested barrels acing as
individual cylinders. Often installed rod side down (where the uid power resides), these cylinders will extend
with the largest bore area rst (the big end), where it likely lifts the front end of a dump bed. With no other
ports or springs to help with retraction, this cylinder counts only on the mass of the empty bed and gravity to
retract.

When a load of a dump truck or other piece of machinery employing a telescopic cylinder goes over center
(meaning past its pivot point), the load then pulls the rod out further. Gravity is no longer able to retract the
cylinder and lower the dump body, so a Double Acting Telescopic cylinder is required. It’s very much like the
single-acting example, but now with actual pistons and a complicated porting network. The symbol shows a
piston rod within a piston rod within a piston rod, which fairly well represents how it is constructed.

Motors and actuators in real applications rarely employ some of the options shown, but they’re important to
know so you not only understand schematics that may come across your desk. As well, know what
components are available by way of their symbol allows for creativity and diversity in your schematic
creations.

You may also like:

Hydraulic Hydraulic Hydraulic Hydraulic Hydraulic

symbology 205 – symbology 204 – symbology 203 – symbology 102: symbology 101:
hydraulic pumps pressure valves understanding Understanding

https://www.fluidpowerworld.com/hydraulic-symbology-206-motors-and-actuators/ 4/17