Hydraulic cylinders are probably what most laypeople picture when they think of fluid power—after all, these components are easily visible, iconic even, as the muscle of the system. Here are five articles on cylinders that I recommend … 1. http://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/1119/hydraulic-cylinder-drift I like this article, “the root cause of hydraulic cylinder drift,” because it’s a topic […]
Mobile Hydraulics Blog
The 9 coolest mobile hydraulic cylinder applications
Hydraulic cylinders are used in countless applications that demand power density and flexibility. Here are 9 of the coolest (not to mention some of the biggest!) applications for mobile hydraulic cylinders. 1. Terex Roadmaster crane The Terex Roadmaster crane provides a lifting capacity of 7 tons at a 20-meter radius with a fully extended boom […]
How to buy a hydraulic cylinder online — test driving some websites
There seems to be as many places to buy hydraulic cylinders as there are types of cylinders. Whether you’re looking at industrial or mobile hydraulic cylinders, searching for tie rod, telescopic or non-repairable types, the choices can seem pretty confusing. Here’s a look at ten websites that offer hydraulic cylinders, with a description of their […]
Mistakes to avoid when choosing a hydraulic cylinder
When you think of engineering brawn, hydraulic cylinders are probably what come to mind. These linear actuators can range from smaller than your arm to gargantuan devices found on excavators, ships, oil rigs and mining trucks. But whatever the size, it’s important to select the correct hydraulic cylinder for your application. Following are some tips […]
Manufacturing matters: U.S. upward, Europe downward?
News on the domestic manufacturing front has been largely positive the past couple of weeks. I was impressed by a couple of articles (one by Politico, the other by the Washington Post) that tried to get past the partisan divides that have come to define Washington and focus on why manufacturing is so critical. And […]
Where did those manufacturing jobs go?
Thankfully, we’re well past the election season of 2012. It seems like one of the biggest buzzwords of the campaign was manufacturing. As in jobs. Look up some different sources online and you can find plenty of disturbing statistics about American manufacturing: • 6.4 million manufacturing jobs have been lost in the past 20 years […]
Manufacturing matters: Made in America again?
New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a name occasionally bantered about as a future VP or Presidential candidate for the Democrats, has been pushing her “Made in America Manufacturing Act” piece of legislation, which would center around competitive low interest loans for manufacturers looking to expand their facilities or build new ones, with a focus on […]
Checking out Bosch Rexroth’s new hydraulic filter app
Just finished playing with the newest fluid power iPhone app, a nicely done program from Bosch Rexroth that allows customers to cross reference and replace their existing hydraulic filter elements with a corresponding Rexroth filter. Called Fit4Filter, the app worked flawlessly on my iPhone 4, and is also offered for Android devices. Rexroth notes that […]
Top mobile hydraulic stories of 2012
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 […]
Ten reasons to hate metric units
Reader Jim Tahler, a Senior Engineer with Rolls-Royce Instrumentation & Controls in Chattanooga—and more importantly, a fellow Ramblin’ Wreck from Georgia Tech—was intrigued by my recent opinion piece on the Imperial vs. Metric System. He wasn’t alone, either. At last glance, there were more than 50 comments on the story, making it one of the […]
