If you have three or more kids, as I do, you probably relate to the stationary retailer’s commercial depicting elated and frolicking parents dancing around to the Christmas carol, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” (Google that song title + Staples, if you haven’t seen it.) The manufacturing industry typically sees a slowdown […]
Featured
Balluff opens new facility in Florence, Ky.
Balluff Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Balluff GmbH, opened the doors of its impressive new three-story, 48,000 sq-ft customer support center in Florence, Ky., just south of Cincinnati, with about 100 guests in attendance, including Kentucky Governor Steve Bushear and a host of local politicians. Ken Howard, Balluff Inc. president, said that the building symbolizes […]
We’re not so different, you and I
I’ve written articles regularly about the differences between hydraulics and electrics, but today I’d like to write about what is not different. To be honest, more is similar with the two forms of energy than is different, especially from a physical perspective. If you are an expert in either industry, you already know more about […]
My hydraulics Top 10!
I love hydraulics. I’ll give you a few seconds to get over that shock: three … two … one … okay great. Now that you’re over it, I’m going to tell you why I love hydraulics, and I can think of no better way than to deliver it in a Top Ten List. 10. I […]
NFPA’s IEOC Day 2: Hydraulics is not going away, not by a long shot
As long as I’ve been covering the fluid power industry—nearly two decades—there has been an undercurrent of concern as to whether hydraulics was slowly going away. Were electrics or some other combination of motion control technology going to force it into the sunset? Wasn’t it just a matter of time before the inevitable happened? So […]
What is piston rod bar stock?
Hydraulic cylinders are the essence of the fluid power motivation. However, their simplicity often leads us to discount their subtleties of manufacture, often assuming they’re constructed of identical stock. You’d be surprised, then, to discover the devil is in the details, and not all cylinders are fabricated equally. One factor often overlooked is the bar […]
Sandvik Mining finds a unique use for a linear position sensor
Sandvik Mining is a drilling solutions provider focused on the design and manufacturing of a wide range of underground in-the-hole (ITH), and geo-technical drilling equipment. The company’s products are distributed globally, and its main markets are the United States, Canada, Africa, South America, and Australia. Sandvik’s DU421-C ITH drill is an underground production drill that […]
What are hydraulic cylinders?
What is a hydraulic cylinder? It seems like such an elementary question, especially considering the depth of fluid power related material on the various WTWH and Design World websites. However, as a person whose job deals with fluid power on the daily, even I can forget how important the fundamental lessens in hydraulics are. A […]
Hydraulics is bringing the sexy back with Mandroid
We all know that hydraulics is making a comeback of sorts in robotics, with some of the amazing creations that companies such as Boston Dynamic have been designing. But now Old Spice—never one to shy away from eccentric commercial campaigns—has introduced the Mandroid, some sort of electric/hydraulic hybrid robot that stumbles into love, no matter […]
Introducing Cosford’s Law … or, Science wins, every time
“Pressure makes it go; flow is the rate in which you can create pressure.” –Cosford’s Law If you’ve been around fluid power for more than a week, you’ve heard the phrase “Flow makes it go.” The first thing I was taught about hydraulics was that “pressure is resistance to flow, and pumps only create flow.” […]