Hydraulic Cylinder Force Calculator
Calculate, verify and understand push & pull force.
A hydraulic cylinder converts hydraulic pressure into linear force. The force depends on the pressure available at the cylinder port and the effective piston area.
For a single-rod cylinder, push force and pull force are different because the piston rod occupies part of the piston area on the rod side.
bar
mm
mm
Push / Extend Force
Pull / Retract Force
Piston Area
Rod Area
Annular Area
Push / Pull Ratio
1. What Is Hydraulic Cylinder Force?
Hydraulic cylinder force is the theoretical linear force generated when hydraulic pressure acts on an effective piston area. For a single-rod hydraulic cylinder, the effective area changes depending on whether the cylinder is extending or retracting.
IMAGE 1 — Push vs Pull diagram