By Josh Cosford There are a couple of methods used in the mobile hydraulic market to control multiple actuators from a common pump supply. The most simple is the monoblock valve, which typically has a cast iron housing and a machined spool operated by a spring centered lever, although solenoid operation is available for nearly […]
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Are hydraulic hybrid vehicles the future of driving?
Today, with almost every major country joining the development race, the demand for fuel is on the rise and the need to look for alternative sources of fuel looms large. One area of research taken up by auto companies has been finding practical and efficient solutions to sources of fuel for vehicles. A couple of […]
CCEFP update: Hydraulically actuated patient transfer device
One goal of the National Science Foundation’s Engineering Research Center on Compact and Efficient Fluid Power (CCEFP) is to explore how advanced fluid power technology can be used in a wider range of applications. A significant market need has been identified for an improved mobile device for transferring mobility limited people—particularly bariatric patients. Typical transfers […]
An interesting opportunity for Illinois fluid power manufacturers
I heard about an interesting program that the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity (DCEO) is launching. The organization will have a dedicated Illinois Pavilion at the World of Industry (WIN) 2014 trade fair, which be held at the TÜYAP Fair Convention and Congress Center in Istanbul, Turkey in March 2014. WIN Turkey, a show I […]
Keep your hydraulic oil clean: Particle city
By Josh Cosford I have a customer who recently experienced a bout with massive ingression of particle contamination. Their ISO 4406 code was in the range of 24/20/19 on a particle machine, which interestingly enough, actually has three filters on it. The only problem was that all three filters were pressure filters. The design of […]
CCEFP update: Hydraulics and free piston engines
Contributed by Ke Li, PhD student, University of Minnesota (Advisor: Professor Zongxuan Sun) A conventional mobile fluid power generation system consists of a internal combustion engine (ICE) and a rotational hydraulic pump. An alternative is the use of a free piston engine (FPE)—this eliminates the crankshaft to enable unconstrained piston motion. With a FPE, linear […]
Testing for leaks without downtime?
Leakage is the bane of any engineer working with a fluid power system. It can easily be avoided by proper system design and setup, as well as the specifying of the proper parts. But in the real world, mistakes happen, maintenance and installation may be shoddy, and a thousand other things can go wrong. This […]
Math + Science = More fluid power knowledge
By Josh Cosford Complete understanding of fluid power (or any vocation for that matter) really does require the general—yet finely honed—macroscopic lens, as well as intimate comprehension of details. So get out your “macroscope,” unfold your lawn chair, pop a squat and aim your optics this way, because I’m about to kick your hydraulic brilliance […]
A look at variable volume technology for hydraulic reservoirs
Hydraulics is a mature industry, so it’s not everyday that you see creative new products come along. So it was interesting to hear about the new Variable Volume Reservoir (VVR), a compact hydraulic reservoir created by Smart Reservoir, a Canadian company. Smart Reservoir says that it can replace conventional hydraulic reservoirs—it’s a simple improvement and it […]
The end of hydraulics in aerospace? Not so fast …
Hydraulics shrink in size but not in role By Michael Jermann, assistant editor For decades, people have been predicting the downfall of hydraulic power and trying to move to an all-electric form of operation. In 1994, Raymond Ross, then president and chief operating officer for Milacron Inc., said the migration from hydraulics to all-electric drives […]
