I have a molding machine that is holding a spring loaded mold closed. The mold is basically two blocks of steel, but one half has a slide system that is pushed open by a number of gas springs. Those springs are oriented in the same direction of travel as the cylinders, so they want to push the mold open.
In one direction, two hydraulic cylinders are holding the mold closed. I have calculated the total force applied by the two cylinders on the rod side as 47,100 N.
In the other, I have 8x gas springs. These are designed to exert a pretty constant force regardless of travel, and each has a force of 3,030 N, for a total of 24,240 N.
Do I just need to compare those two numbers to approximately determine if the cylinders have enough force to shut the mold and keep it shut against the spring pressure? In this example, it would seem the answer is yes, but I'm not sure if I'm missing something here, and I would like to be able to determine if various different spring/gas spring configurations would work (in the sense of not exerting too much force for the cylinders to overcome).
Thanks
