I once had a customer call to request I visit them at their own customer’s site to help with a “breakdown.” I’m always down to help a customer, so I gladly paid a visit. Arriving on-site, many looming pieces of machinery greeted me in a heavy equipment yard. An excavator sat atop a float trailer […]
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Ultra-large excavator has high-efficiency hydraulics
Hitachi Construction Machinery plans to add the EX2000-7 ultra-large hydraulic excavator to its line of mining machinery. The redesigned unit, slated for introduction next year, is based on the current EX1900-6. The model reportedly will feature an entirely new hydraulic circuit that reduces fuel consumption by up to 19% with no loss in productivity. Powered […]
High-efficiency hydraulics for electrically powered machines
Flow-on-Demand systems enable energy-saving mobile drive technology. By Dierk Peitsmeyer, Product Portfolio Manager, Bucher Hydraulics, Klettgau, Germany The Paris Agreement is the landmark environmental accord that aims to address the negative impacts of climate change and substantially reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. Although the U.S. will formally withdraw from the Agreement on Nov. 4, nearly […]
Proportional directional control valves in size 6 cavity
Hydac is pleased to announce the introduction of the new PWK06J series of proportional directional control valves. The series is currently available in Motor Spool “J,” with a closed center option to follow. Though the size is small, the features are big and include: Compared to any other 3-position, 4-way proportional directional valve, this is […]
Gates Corp. takes gold in Hydraulic Category of 2020 LEAP Awards
The winners of the 2020 LEAP Awards (Leadership in Engineering Achievement Program) were announced this afternoon in a digital ceremony, with products across 12 categories, including two in fluid power, Hydraulics and Pneumatics. Critical to LEAP’s success is the involvement of the engineering community. No one at WTWH Media selected the winners. Instead, our editorial […]
Modular valve system embodies design flexibility
The modular valve system RPEK1-03/B from ARGO-HYTOS, Baar, Switzerland, is a flexible system suited for a wide range of applications in mobile and stationary machinery. The RPEK1-03 (size 03) sectional directional valve, with a maximum flow of 20 l/min (5.3 gpm) per section is the basic component of the assembly. Thanks to a large number […]
Hydraulics in mining: safe and reliable
Eliminating downtime and ensuring safety in mining — two benefits hydraulics provides consistently. By Josh Cosford, Contributing Editor More than almost any other industry appropriating fluid power, mining is where safety sits front and center from design to execution. Surface mining enjoys bragging rights to some of the most massive machines ever manufactured by humans. […]
U.S. Navy wakes up, revisits hydraulics
In a push toward everything “cutting edge” and “high-tech,” the U.S. Navy in recent years has gone overboard — no pun intended — with the wholesale replacement of proven hydraulic-powered systems with untested electric drives. The results in many cases have been dismal. The $13 billion USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier is the most […]
Rotational speed sensors allow highly sensitive mobile machine control
Holmer Maschinenbau GmbH, a German-based agricultural company, developed the first self-propelled six-row sugar-beet harvester in 1974. Since that time, the Holmer machines have been in successful operation by customers in over 40 countries world-wide. On its sugar beet harvesters, it requires a precise collection of actual values directly at the place of consumption (propulsion, toppers, […]
Hydraulics powers ultra-high pressure firefighting
HMA Fire, based in Fall River, Wisc., develops fire-fighting equipment and systems for a range of on- and off-road vehicles — from custom mini-pumpers and skid units for ATVs to add-on packages for full-size fire vehicles. Its goal is to make fighting fires safer and more efficient by using ultra-high pressure (UHP) technology. The company […]
