Gas Spring Mounting Calculator

[Ilona Brownson]

Theprocess of installing gas springs can result in a minor headache, as not all information is as straightforward as it can be. We are about to change just that. In this article, you will learn how to calculate the correct gas spring mounting position for installing gas springs on hinged doors.

Before we dive into the calculations. Here at Gasspringsshop, we offer professional-grade gas springs and mounting parts which will last you for many years to come. Our products are German-engineered and manufactured in the USA. By using our free-to-use online tools you can easily calculate new applications and find replacement gas springs. We custom-assemble all orders to make sure you receive your gas springs ready for use. Also, we ship out all orders within one working day. This sounds great, right? Hundreds of our customers are satisfied with our products and services. Discover their shared experiences here.

For optimal placement of a gas spring, we suggest starting with the moving mounting point. You can calculate the gas spring mounting position as follows. A simplified rule of thumb is to measure the length of the lid and mount it at approximately 30% of the length of the lid, measured from the hinge. But for those who want to be absolutely sure and measure the most optimal and exact mounting position, always use our calculator tool.

Properly positioning and selecting the appropriate size gas spring can enhance the performance and longevity of your application, making it a crucial aspect. Therefore we also advise you to always install your gas spring with the rod down, ensuring optimal lubrication of the seal.

When trying to figure out the force in Newtons needed for the gas springs to lift your object you can either reach a formula like F1 = (G * H : L) + 30%: number of gas springs or use our free and easy-to-use calculator with an interactive interface.

By navigating to tools -> calculator you are able to easily calculate the force needed to lift your application and order the right gas spring right away. Simply fill in, and check, all the information like dimensions and weight, subsequently simulate the application and order the suggested gas spring once all checks out.

We have tried to make the calculation tool as user-friendly as possible and continuously try to improve it. The calculation tool is very suitable for normal lids or hatches. The calculation tool can also be used for less standard applications.

It is important that you enter the requested data as accurately as possible. The calculation tool can then calculate a gas spring as accurately as possible and determine the points where to attach the gas spring. When you click on a question mark you will see a brief explanation of what exactly you must enter. First of all you need to click the image that most closely resembles your application. The first image applies, for example, to a toy box. The second image on a market stall. The third image applies to an angled cover. The fourth image applies, for example, to a horse trailer. For the calculation, pictures 1 and 4 are actually the same. Only the visualisation and simulation then correspond better with your actual application.

Enter the weight of the entire cover here. It is best that you remove the cover and weigh it on the scale. If the cover cannot be detached, you can approximate the weight as follows. Make sure the cover is horizontal and weigh on one side with a scale how much this side weighs. The total weight of the cover then is 2x this weight. Note: this method only works for a simple rectangular cover.

Select here the number of gas springs that you want to apply. Usually two gas springs are used: one on both sides of the cover. It is also possible to use one gas spring, but then there is a chance that the cover will skew or not close completely close to where the gas spring is located. This will happen less likely in case you place the gas spring in the middle of the cover. Even then it is important that the cover is stiff enough so that the cover will not bend on both sides.

Enter the height of the cover here. With a cover that only consists of a board, we mean the thickness of the board. If a cover also has edges, you must also take those edges into account. So enter the total height (incl. edges) of the cover. The red line in the figure below shows the height of the cover.

A big difference between stainless steel 304 and stainless steel 316 is in the composition. The weakness of stainless steel 304 is the sensitivity to chlorides and acids, which can result in (local) corrosion. Stainless steel 316 is better resistant to corrosion and environmental influences (eg salt water) due to a different composition. For this reason, stainless steel 316 is often used for aggressive environments.

In addition, the stainless steel 316 gas springs are higher quality. These gas springs have a grease chamber and a built-in clean cap. A grease chamber ensures that the gas spring seal is always properly lubricated, so that it does not matter how the gas springs are positioned. These gas springs can therefore also be mounted with the piston rod upwards or be positioned completely horizontally, without the seal drying out and the gas springs starting to leak. A clean cap ensures that the piston rod is scraped clean, so that no dirt gets into the interior of the gas springs. As a result, the stainless steel 316 gas springs can also be used in the more dirty environments.

If all data entered in step 1 matches the actual situation, it is better not to check this box. The center of gravity will then be calculated automatically. The center of gravity (black-and-white sphere in the simulation) will be near the center of the cover. Only if the center of gravity of the cover is somewhere else, you can indicate where this should be located in this extra option. Try to determine this as precisely as possible and enter this at this step.

At the x position (in mm) you can enter where the center of gravity is horizontally relative to the pivot point of the cover, if you keep the cover horizontal. With a normal rectangular cover of 750 mm long, the default value will be 375 mm. If, for example, the cover is slightly weighted at the end, you must therefore increase the x position, so that the center of gravity also lies a little more at the end of the cover.

The moment (force times arm measured from the hinge) of the cover in Newton meter (Nm) and the moment (also measured from the hinge measured in Nm) of the gas springs work in the opposite direction, leaving you with a moment in one of the two directions. What you have left is the force (in N) that you still have to use by hand to hold the cover at that certain angle. It is therefore different at every angle in which the cover is held.

The hand force can also be seen in the 2D simulation at the blue arrow. If the moment of the cover (the red line) and the moment of the gas springs (the green line) intersect in the graph, no manual force is required (the blue line). There are two green lines. This has to do with the fact that the insertion of a gas spring costs more force than the extension of the gas spring, due to the friction that must then be overcome. A green area therefore appears in the graph. If the red line falls in the green area, the cover will therefore remain in that position.

Because the insertion of the gas springs is heavier than the extension of the gas springs, two blue lines and a blue area will also be created. This is because the manual force will also have to be greater when the gas springs are pushed in (closing the cover) comparing to the sliding out of the gas springs (when the cover is opened).

The simulation specifies the maximum force that will be applied to the hinges of the cover when the gas springs are mounted. By placing gas springs, more is required of the hinges. The force that appears here is an indication of how strong the hinges should be. You may need to install stronger hinges. You can read more information about the force that will be applied to the hinges of the cover and how this can possibly be absorbed here.

If the simulation already shows exactly what you wanted, then in principle you do not need to change anything and you can accept it for notification. However, in step 3 you can also fine tune the calculation so that it is even more as you wish. There is not just one solution. There are many solutions. If you change something in step 3, you do not have to click on calculate again in step 2. The simulation and the calculation will also change automatically. What information is in step 3 and what can possibly be changed will be explained here.

If you are going to calculate a gas spring, and the proposed gas spring is quite expensive, you can also select a cheaper gas spring that has more or less the same length as the proposed gas spring. So possibly a gas spring with the same diameter but then a slightly longer or shorter stroke, or a gas spring with a different diameter. The larger the diameter, the more force the gas spring can have. The 4-12 can be up to 200N, the 6-15 can up to 450N, the 8-19 can up to 800N, the 10-23 can up to 1250N and the 14-28 can up to 2500N.

In general it holds that the longer the gas springs (so with a larger stroke) the less force on the hinges of the cover. Often a slightly longer or slightly shorter gas spring will make little difference to the result. You can always check that in the simulation after you have selected the other gas spring. Once you have selected another gas spring, the calculation tool will immediately calculate with this gas spring.

This is the stroke of the gas spring that will not be used. The minimum unused stroke is 10 mm. There is always room for a little play if the gas springs are not mounted to the mm. Sometimes it may be convenient to increase this distance. This is the case, for example, if the place to mount the gas spring is better. However, the smaller you choose this value, the more you make useful use of the stroke of the gas spring. We therefore advise you to stay close to 10 mm.

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