It was an interesting couple of days here at the National Fluid Power Association’s annual Industry and Economic Outlook Conference (IEOC) here at the Westin Chicago North Shore. Most of the analysts and economists roughly agreed that things will remain positive into the early part of 2018, with a modest downturn in 2018-2019. Some highlights […]
Will global warming kill fluid power?
Two new studies released this month paint a grim picture of the consequences of global warming. The papers published by scientists at the Universities of Colorado and Washington say that due to CO2 emissions, global temperature will likely increase more than 3.6°F by the end of the century, triggering a catastrophic rise in sea levels, […]
NFPA’s IEOC is back in the spotlight
The National Fluid Power Association’s annual International Economic Outlook Conference takes place this week, at the Westin Chicago North Shore in suburban Wheeling, Ill. This event, which I sort of see as the kickoff to the busy fall schedule of trade shows and conferences, is one of my favorites. The amount of industry data and […]
Top 7 pro tips to improve your hydraulic knowledge
Nobody is born with innate knowledge of fluid power. It’s a tricky business, and is sometimes difficult to learn, especially if you don’t have an engineering background. The basics are clouded with misinformation, and even when you’re past the basics, there are infinite combinations of hydraulic components, requiring a deep understanding of not only each […]
How does a hydraulic accumulator work?
Hydraulic accumulators are energy storage devices. Analogous to rechargeable batteries in electrical systems, they store and discharge energy in the form of pressurized fluid and are often used to improve hydraulic-system efficiency. An accumulator itself is a pressure vessel that holds hydraulic fluid and a compressible gas, typically nitrogen. The housing or shell is made […]
IFPS unveils new logo design
The International Fluid Power Society unveiled its new logo today, replacing the familiar red circular logo that it has used for decades. The old logo incorporated a white triangle, evoking the symbol for a hydraulic pump. The new version, reminiscent of a pennant or medal, incorporates several themes: • A gold burst represents a radiant […]
Mobile hydraulic machines prove their worth in extreme environments
By Josh Cosford, contributing editor Let’s face it, the world can be an extreme place. In the past decade, it appears the world is becoming exponentially more extreme, especially environmentally. The cold seems colder, the hot seems hotter and the wet seems wetter. I’m lucky enough to live in a part of the world experiencing […]
Decentralized hydraulics for micro excavators
Environmental restrictions and economic pressures have spurred greater interest in hybrid and electric off-road mobile machinery. According to researchers Tatiana Minav, Matti Pietola and Shuzhong Zhang of Aalto University in Espoo, Finland, in addition to well-established methods for energy saving in hydraulic systems, a promising concept is zonal or decentralized hydraulics—an approach first pioneered in […]
Proper hydraulic system maintenance: organize your documentation
If you’re looking to improve your hydraulic system maintenance program, you must begin by organizing your documentation. The experts at CD Industrial Group (CDIG) explained in a recent webinar that they feel there is a documentation crisis at play in so many of the sites they visit around North America. “It’s very hard, we believe, […]
The IoT on the job site
I occasionally find myself in situations where I have to defend the Internet of Things to a nonbeliever. That person may be a skeptical engineer who sees it all as marketing-speak or an acquaintance who isn’t entrenched into the manufacturing world. I do agree that there’s a degree of the IoT marketing bandwagon—where anything with […]
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