Engineering Basics

Hydraulic motors are rotary actuators that convert hydraulic, or fluid energy into mechanical power. They work in tandem with a hydraulic pump, which converts mechanical power into fluid, or hydraulic power. Hydraulic motors provide the force and supply the motion to move an external load. Three common types of hydraulic motors are used most often […]

Sealing is a vital factor in the proper function of hydraulic applications, as leakage from the cylinder or across the piston, along with the ingress of unwanted contaminants, decrease the lifespan and efficiency of the entire application. There are numerous sealing products, technologies and techniques to keep oil in and contaminants out of the hydraulic […]

Safety is a critical aspect to any fluid power system, not just from the basic level of keeping components plumbed properly, but also in overall levels of machine safeguarding. It is critical to evaluate the entire system, including the electrical portion, to minimize exposure to unnecessary risk. Systems are rated based on the weakest link […]

Hydraulic rotary actuators are used for high torque, heavy-duty motion applications. They have high force capabilities, high power-per-unit weight and volume, good mechanical stiffness, and high dynamic response. They provide the heft for lifting, turning, indexing, clamping, mixing, bending, testing, and steering applications among others. Rotary actuators are compact and efficient, and produce high instantaneous […]

While the hydraulic and electric industries have become more complementary to each other, they have an entirely different kind of replacement market potential, due to: duty cycle frequency of use patterns of use maintenance needs Electrical products, particularly motors, are well understood and repaired by practically every repair house across the globe. This is not […]

Pressure is termed as the force per given area required to stop a fluid expanding. Pressure transducers, which are a subset of pressure sensors, can be any number of devices which sample and record the pressure in a system. A pressure transducer is unique from gauge sensing in that it converts a pressure measurement into […]

Hydraulics has been around in one form or another for thousands of years. When water was later used to irrigate and control water clocks, the water itself was accomplishing more work, turning waterwheels to mill flour or grind wood into pulp. Modern hydraulic systems are flourishing, as they have one particularly important thing going for […]

Positive-displacement pumps, also called hydrostatic pumps, are used in fluid power motion control applications. They have a very small clearance between rotating and stationary parts. These pumps deliver a specific amount of fluid to the system for each revolution. Positive-displacement pumps can be further divided into two categories: Fixed- and variable-displacement. Fixed-delivery pumps provide a […]

This article was updated on July 15, 2016, with new images. A hydraulic manifold is a component that regulates fluid flow between pumps and actuators and other components in a hydraulic system. It could be compared to a switchboard in an electrical circuit, because it lets the operator control how much fluid flows between components of a hydraulic machinery. For example, in a backhoe […]

Improper selection or improper use of hoses, tubing, fittings, and assemblies can cause failures, personal injury, or property damage. Understanding the hose assembly and following the installation instructions provided by manufacturers will reduce these risks. Engineers looking to specify hose couplings need to consider a few things besides correct size. Will the couplings be reused […]