What Data Is Needed for Industrial Shock Absorber Calculation?
A practical checklist of the application data needed before sizing an industrial shock absorber.
Direct answer
At minimum, collect motion direction, moving weight, impact velocity, available stroke, drive or thrust force if present, cycles per hour, and temperature or environmental constraints. Heavy-duty custom-orifice buffers also need mounting method and any safety or corrosion requirements.
Questions this page answers
- What data is needed to select an industrial shock absorber?
- What information should I send for a shock absorber RFQ?
- What application data is required for heavy duty buffer selection?
Required inputs
Calculation steps
- 1
Define the motion
Identify whether the motion is horizontal, vertical, inclined or rotary, because gravity and inertia are handled differently.
- 2
Collect the stopping values
Record moving weight, impact velocity, available absorber stroke and any drive force that continues pushing into the stop.
- 3
Check duty and environment
Record cycles per hour, ambient temperature, corrosive exposure, side load risk and mounting constraints before selecting the product family.
Common mistakes
- Using catalog stroke without confirming actual usable machine stroke.
- Ignoring a pneumatic cylinder or motor force that continues to push during deceleration.
- Sizing only by energy per cycle and forgetting energy per hour.
Catalog source notes
- The full product catalog p.39 and p.50 list required application data for EI/ED heavy-duty buffers: vertical or horizontal motion, weight, impact velocity, thrust force when needed, cycles per hour, temperature/environment and safety conditions.
Move from answer to model shortlist.
Use the sizing tool when you have the inputs, or send the application data for engineering review.