For the last six years or so, I have been covering with great interest the development of hydraulic hybrid technologies for on-road vehicles. Some companies have tried to demonstrate this fuel-efficient technology in smaller automotive vehicles, but have found that its use in medium- and large-duty trucks and buses is truly the way to go. […]
Mobile Hydraulics Blog
3 exciting things to expect at next month’s Hannover Fair
It’s a mere 40 days until the opening of the planet’s biggest industrial tradeshow, the Hannover Fair. It seems to me that a lot of companies in there fluid power industry use Hannover as a place to launch new products. Here are three things I’m particularly interested in seeing: 1. RFID pressure transmitters. I had […]
What do you know about hydraulic filter media?
If you’re not familiar with the basics of hydraulic filtration, just wait a week. A week is all it takes to be bombarded by blogs, articles and advertising on the importance of hydraulic filtration—and rightfully so, as it’s the most critical consideration you can make if you’re serious about reliability. I’m guilty of lecturing readers […]
Dean Kamen—Leadership in Engineering
By Paul J. Heney • Editorial Director America’s favorite inventor is moving forward with some exciting new projects, after some critical lessons learned. What makes a true engineering leader? Is it outright technical brilliance? Tenacity? Or creativity in tackling and executing projects? Maybe it’s passion. Or the desire to give back to future generations. Well, […]
Hydraulic system: Top five errors
Hydraulics is easy to get wrong. In fact, I’d say there are more ways to screw up in hydraulics than there are to get it right. Not everyone finds fluid power concepts to be intuitive, so without proper education and training, mistakes, oversights and misconceptions occur all the time. I’d like to save you at […]
Industry 4.0 to be focus of 2015 Hannover Fair
On Tuesday, representatives of Hannover Messe, along with dignitaries that included the Indian ambassador to Germany, Vijay Gokhale, gave a sneak peak of this year’s Hannover Fair, the world’s largest industrial trade show, scheduled for April 13-17 in Hannover, Germany. The preview, held in Berlin, included more than 40 exhibitors, many of them in the […]
Dean Kamen speaks out on science vs politics
Design World spoke with master inventor Dean Kamen (of FIRST and Segway fame) and he’s the star of our “Leadership in Engineering” January cover story. As a preview of that article, here’s an online extra from our conversation with Kamen. * * * * * * * Kamen, who is a huge proponent of STEM […]
What is a hydraulic motor?
I’ve asked similar questions, “what is a hydraulic cylinder,” and “what is a hydraulic pump,” so I thought I’d add another query to the list, and ask “what is a hydraulic motor?” Just as with the previous two articles, this may seem like an elementary question, especially if you’re a fluid power professional. For me […]
Eaton tests hydraulic hybrid on lift trucks
Eaton’s Hydraulics division has been fairly quiet about its hydraulic hybrid technology lately, considering that the company was one of the first to really pioneer its use in on-highway vehicles, like its partnership with UPS several years back to test its series system on medium-duty trucks. Eaton hasn’t been doing much with its parallel system for […]
Support sought as the Fluid Power Challenge continues to grow
Back in 2008, just three middle school teams competed in the first ever NFPA Fluid Power Challenge, an event aimed at challenging eighth grade students to solve an engineering problem using fluid power. Today, hundreds of students participate in these regional events throughout the country, with new ones being added regularly. In the last week […]