Any leakage of pressurised fluid past the piston seals will result in a rapid drop in performance. Leakage past the piston seals also means that the cylinder will not support a suspended load, which may be a safety critical requirement in applications such as presses.
Manufacturers such as Parker offer a range of piston seal types to suit different application criteria. If considerations such as, for example, load holding, servo performance or aggressive environments will be an issue, ensure that the piston seals chosen are appropriate for the job.
Time spent selecting suitable piston seals at the outset will be repaid many times over in terms of machine performance and service life.