Hydraulic Cylinder Calculator
Enter bore diameter, rod diameter, pressure, and stroke to get extension force, retraction force, stroke volume, and required flow rate.
Cylinder Parameters
mm
mm
mm
bar
s
Used to compute required flow rate. Leave blank to skip.
Results
Fill in the parameters and press Calculate.
Extension Force (Push)
—
Full bore area x pressure
Retraction Force (Pull)
—
Annular area x pressure
Bore-Side Volume
—
Volume during extension
Rod-Side Volume
—
Volume during retraction
Extension Flow Rate
—
L/min for extension stroke
Retraction Flow Rate
—
L/min for retraction stroke
Cylinder Cross-Section (to scale)
Bore
Bore
Rod
All calculations use SI base units internally. Rounding applied for display.
Summary
Enter bore diameter, rod diameter, pressure, and stroke to get extension force, retraction force, stroke volume, and required flow rate.
How it works
- Extension force equals pressure times the full bore area (pi/4 times bore diameter squared). Retraction force uses the annular area (bore area minus rod area). Stroke volume is the side area times stroke length. Flow rate is volume divided by the time to complete the stroke. Unit conversions are applied automatically based on your selection.
Use cases
- Size a hydraulic cylinder for a press or clamp application.
- Verify that a pump can supply enough flow for a given cycle time.
- Calculate retraction force for a two-way cylinder with a rod.
- Convert between metric and imperial hydraulic specifications.
- Check whether the system pressure is sufficient for a required load.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Last updated: 2026-05-23 ·
Reviewed by Nham Vu