2012 saw continued improvement in mobile hydraulic systems—with a huge focus on energy efficiency. With the TIER IV final regulations coming on board in 2014, equipment manufacturers have been busy redesigning their hydraulic systems to meet the stringent new requirements—which, of course, include increased overall efficiency.
Here is a rundown of some of the more popular stories and product announcements that appeared on this site over the course of the past year.
Why we won’t kill the Imperial System — This opinion piece garnered more than 50 online comments as readers debated whether the Imperial system was sufficient for the U.S. to continue with, or whether it made more sense for the country to join most of the rest of the world and embrace the Metric system.
Obama vs Romney on manufacturing, trade — The U.S. presidential race was nothing if not divisive. Want proof? When we posted the official position papers of the Obama and Romney campaigns on manufacturing (straight from their websites), we received a flood of angry emails. From both sides. Even though the article clearly states that these were Obama’s and Romney’s official points, some readers (who obviously weren’t reading!) jumped to the conclusion that we were making these assertions and were horribly biased. The article was, nonetheless, a popular one and a great launching point for commenters. Although even some of those people failed to read the opening paragraph … sigh.
CAD files for 3,000 hydraulic fittings and adapters now available — This release from Tompkins Industries attracted a lot of interest. The company announced that it had more than 3,000 CAD files in both 2D and 3D for all the major CAD programs. We engineers sure like our AutoCAD and Solidworks.
Hydraulic load-holding valves from Rexroth — Going back to the energy efficiency comments above, Bosch Rexroth gained a lot of attention for their new load-holding valves. These valves (a replacement for counterbalance valves) are a smart choice for systems like booms that raise and lower loads. Gravity can be used instead of engine power to lower the load, cutting emissions and increasing overall system efficiency.
HydraForce releases new version of i-Design — This Chicago-area manufacturer turned a lot of heads with the release of their new version (3.3) of i-Design, free software that allows designers to create hydraulic system circuits.
John Bell says
Paul,
Bosch Rexroth closed down their hydraulic hybrid development program in Rochester Hills, Mich. a few weeks ago. Too costly and no payback I guess, they only had a few prototypes out. I worked nearby at FEV for 5 years, that program died, the UPS hydraulic hybrid truck, done by the EPA. Also, I interviewed at NRGDynamix a year ago, that place is strange, they have a product that is a hydrostatic drive for a small Ford truck but what market I do not know, it seems to be a scam of investors, the mileage improvement is minimal. Hydraulic hybrids seem to be dead. Best regards, John Bell in Michigan
Paul22 says
Hello, I think that the sector and program involving hydraulic hybrid is still very expensive for a medium target. A great revolution about this type of business has yet to come. Hydraulic hybrid utilizes vehicle’s kinetic energy that is really different from electrical hybrid, for this reason it gives the possibility of saving fuel, but its cost is really really high either for a company or for a client.