This SMC stainless-steel NCM Series air cylinder has a round body, front nose mounting, and is single acting with a spring-return rod. The air cylinder (also called a pneumatic cylinder) has a stainless-steel body to help resist corrosion and scaling, and it comes with a single piston rod. The single-acting air cylinder uses airflow through its single air port for rod extension and an internal spring in the cylinder barrel's rod end for rod retraction to produce continued movement. Nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) seals that contain air help protect the barrel and piston rod. The air cylinder has front nose mounting and includes a mounting nut for securing the nose with brackets (sold separately) to rigid surfaces. The maximum pressure of the pneumatic cylinder is 250 pounds per square inch (psi), and it has a temperature range of 40 to 140 degrees F. This non-repairable air cylinder is suitable for a variety of general purpose linear applications.

Pneumatic actuators fall into two classes: linear and rotary. Linear actuators move objects in straight lines, while rotary actuators turn objects, or rotate them in varying directions. Air cylinders (also called pneumatic cylinders), the most common type of linear actuators, use pressurized air to pull and push piston rods in and out of cylinder barrels. This motion moves mechanisms connected to the rods, or (for detached items) directs or blocks travel using rod-attached plates. Air cylinders execute pushing, pulling, lifting, lowering, pressing, and stopping functions, and they come in several different body types, including round, compact, tie-rod, guided, slide, and clamp. Pneumatic cylinders can be either single acting, with one compressed air port to push the rod in a single direction and a spring to return the rod, or double acting, with two compressed air ports on opposite ends of the cylinder to both extend and retract the rod. For quieter piston operation, air cylinders can come with cushioning in one or both ends of their barrels. Several mounting styles are available both for attaching the air cylinder ends to moving components in a pneumatic system and for mounting to rigid surfaces. Air cylinders are used in industrialized automation tasks in automotive, food processing, material handling, and robotics applications, among others.

SMC Corporation manufactures actuators, valves, airline equipment, connector fittings, electrical products, vacuum products, dryers, temperature control chillers, and accessories. SMC Corporation of America is headquartered in Noblesville, IN, and meets International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9000:2000 standards.