What is is about the new year that causes us to try to measure things? Must be human nature, or we’re just subconsciously influenced by all the pop culture TV programming that divides things into lists and countdowns and anniversaries. Regardless of the reason, we thought it would be fun to see what were the most […]
Mobile Hydraulics Blog
What is a hydraulic pump?
It seems like such a basic question to ask, but unfortunately, many who even work in this industry do not know the function of a hydraulic pump. When I was first taught about the function of a hydraulic pump, I was told its only job was to provide flow. I was also told that any […]
Q&A with NC State’s Dr. Paul Cohen
Recently, I chatted with Dr. Paul Cohen, head of NC State University’s Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE) Department. The department leads an advanced manufacturing institute that is focused on power electronics, as part of a White House project to advance specific technologies and create new manufacturing jobs in the coming years. He touched on everything […]
5 tips for yearly maintenance
Well, we made it through another year. I’m not sure what else we could have done, since doomsday theories never seem to pan out. This means your hydraulic machines are still humming away as you go through your work day to achieve the status quo. To keep your machines—whether they be tractors, excavators or even […]
Tis the Season
If you are employed with a manufacturing facility, then ‘tis the season for visits from salespersons, who bring with them their sacks full of treats; cookies, chocolates, crackers, or if you’re lucky, some of old grampa’s cough medicine in a 26 oz bottle. Whether you consider them generally annoying or essential to business, the salesperson […]
Environmental considerations for fluid power system design
I have been designing and selling fluid power systems eight years, and not once has a customer ever asked for environmental friendliness to be the first consideration … nor the second, nor the third … in fact, it’s never been a requested consideration. My eight years in the industry pales compared to many of you […]
Not your grandfather’s gear pump, part 2
Continuing the discussion from last week, the past fifty years saw a continued evolution of the gear pump, which has resulted in higher efficiency, higher pressure and more versatility than was ever previously available. Aluminum alloys are now the most common construction material for the gear pump housing, and hardened steel is used for the […]
Not your grandfather’s gear pump, part 1
The venerable gear pump is so strongly associated with hydraulics that perhaps only cylinders are more prominent in this industry. There is good reason for the popularity of the hydraulic gear pump; they are simple, inexpensive, durable and interminable. I’ve seen them made from about five pieces if you don’t count seals and bolts, and […]
The importance of pressure compensation
When I was a Padawan Learner of hydraulics, I found the concept of pressure compensation to be difficult to understand. Part of my difficultly was also a result of my difficulty understanding pressure drop, which is intimately related to pressure compensation. For general pressure compensation, it describes a component that varies an orifice to maintain […]
Beta ratio: Identifying the quality of a hydraulic filter element
I wrote about the ISO 4406 cleanliness code in my last two blogs here and here, and today I’d like to take it a bit further and discuss beta ratios. Beta ratios are important to help us identify the quality of a hydraulic filter element. If using the ISO Code to help identify and specify […]