Your oil is wet. No, I didn’t skip 8th grade science class, where you learn how oil and water don’t mix. Okay, so it mixes a bit, if you agitate it enough, but then separates nicely with oil floating atop water. Your hydraulic fluid likes water as much as olive oil likes a bottle of […]
Uses for hydraulics in five applications
In my last blog, I discussed five applications where you shouldn’t use hydraulics. Tiny robots, cars, tight budgets, can crushers and bicycles are all terrible uses for hydraulics. On the opposite pole are the applications I feel are fantastic for hydraulics, and my top 5 are as follows: 1. Underwater. As it turns out, the […]
What is hydraulic fluid conditioning – part 2
Cool is relative. We humans enjoy a narrow bandwidth of ambient temperature, and we complain should we experience anything outside of a twenty degree span. To be fair, we can handle a few hundred degrees above absolute zero, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s nothing compared to the millions of degrees at the […]
5 applications where you should not use hydraulics
I can think of a million ways to use hydraulics. Its legendary power density, easy controllability and flexible application options means it finds its way into everything from underwater robots to injection molding machines. However, just because there are myriad perfect applications for hydraulics, it doesn’t mean it should be used everywhere. Here are my […]
What is hydraulic fluid conditioning – part 1
You’ll have to excuse my shade of indigo. I’m not sure if it’s more Smurf or Na’vi, but back when I first started writing about fluid power, I promised I’d talk about fluid conditioning until I’m blue in the face. I’ll live with the odd skin tone, because fluid conditioning is still one of […]
What is a Hydraulic Valve?
Asking “what is a hydraulic valve?” is like asking “how long is a piece of string?” The variations available to the hydraulic designer are absolutely astounding, not only because of the myriad types of valves on the market, but also because of the numerous manufacturers making them. The most basic description of a valve is […]
What is laminar flow?
A fluid is unique in its capacity to be, well … fluid. A solid is solid because its molecules enjoy staying put. A granite molecule joins hands with its molecular friends, where they have to stare at each other for millions, if not billions of years. Fluid molecules—remember that gases and liquids are both fluids—are […]
How to maintain hydraulic system safety
What does it mean to be safe with hydraulics? Hydraulics is just a form of force transfer, and is often not unique to the mechanical systems. For example, many hydraulic operations can be achieved with drives, gears, belts or electric motors. Safe hydraulics involves the consideration of a safe machine, first and foremost, and this […]
What is wet oil and how can you combat it?
Is there such a thing as wet oil? In the early days of middle school science class, we are taught how water and oil do not mix. You could add pretty much any oil to a beaker of water, and no manner of stirring or swirling could get it to stay mixed for more than […]
What I would tell a freshman engineering student
So it’s your first year of university, and you’ve chosen to get your degree in engineering. Good choice. According to Payscale.com, the top 8 out of 10 highest paying undergraduate degrees are in engineering. The world is advancing towards our technological future at an exponentially increasing rate, and we owe this to the fields of […]
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