Piston Pump

Piston pump definition

The piston pump is a type of positive displacement pump, wherein said high pressure seal with said reciprocating piston. Piston pumps can be used to transport liquids or compressed gases. They can operate over a wide range of pressures. High pressure operation can be achieved without a strong influence on the flow rate. Piston pumps can also handle viscous media and media containing solid particles. This pump type functions through a piston cup, an oscillating mechanism (where a downward stroke causes a pressure differential), and a filled pump chamber (where an upward stroke forces the pump fluid out for use). Piston pumps are typically used in scenarios where high, consistent pressure is required, as well as in water irrigation or delivery systems.

Types of piston pumps

The two main types of piston pumps are lift pumps and force pumps. Both types can be operated by hand or engine.

Lift pumps

In a lift pump, the upward stroke of the piston draws water into the lower part of the cylinder through a valve. In the downstroke, the water enters the upper part of the cylinder through a valve set in the piston. In the next upstroke, water is discharged from the upper part of the cylinder through a nozzle. This type of pump is limited by the height of water that can be supported by air pressure against vacuum.

Force pumps

In a force pump, the upper stroke of the piston draws water through the inlet valve into the cylinder. In the downstroke, the water is discharged through the discharge valve into the discharge pipe.

Axial piston pump working principle

The main part is driven by the drive shaft to rotate the cylinder, so that the seven plungers evenly distributed in the cylinder. The seven plungers on the cylinder rotate around the center line of the drive shaft, and the plunger is pressed against the variable head (or swashplate) by the central spring.

The sliding shoe of the plunger is pressed on the variable head (or swash plate). This way, the plunger moves reciprocally with the rotation of the cylinder to complete the oil absorption and pressure action.

Piston pump applications

The piston pump is suitable for high pressure and small flow rate, especially when the flow rate is less than 100 m3/hour and the discharge pressure is more than 9.8 MPa, it shows its high efficiency and good operating performance. It has good suction performance and can pump various different mediums and liquids of different viscosities. Therefore, it is widely used in petrochemical industry, machinery manufacturing industry, paper making, food processing, pharmaceutical production, etc. Low to medium speed piston pump speed is low, can be operated by human and animal dragging, suitable for rural water supply and small irrigation.

Axial piston pump components

From the above diagram, we can see that the components of this pump are: swash plate, return plate, cylinder, oil distribution plate, drive shaft, slide shoe, spring, plunger, inlet and outlet, etc.

Piston pumps are widely used in machine tools, forging, metallurgy, engineering, mining and other machinery and other hydraulic transmission systems by virtue of their simple structure, small size, high efficiency and strong self-priming ability. ATO offers variable and fixed displacement axial piston pumps with power from 8 hp, 15 hp, 30 hp to 300 hp, with customization support.