The annual Chainless Challenge was held in Irvine, Calif. last month, inspiring eight teams of college engineering students to redesign a traditional bicycle using hydraulics as the mode of power transmission. The Challenge was started and supported by Parker Hannifin in 2006, and the NFPA is becoming involved—and will manage (and broaden) the program in […]
Bauma opens today
Bauma, one of the world’s leading exhibitions for construction and mining equipment, opened today in Munich. With 17 halls and an expansive outdoor display area, the show has a total exhibition area of more than 600,000 m2—making it the world’s largest trade show. Attendance is expected to exceed 500,000 visitors. Hydraulics winners of the Bauma […]
Hydraulic controls bring precision and flexibility to force testing
by Rick Meyerhoefer, Delta Computer Systems Dead-weight testing is finally replaced by something decidedly more 21st century. Traditionally, repair facilities test hoists in a pretty straightforward way—they lift heavy loads after the repairs have been completed, to make sure that they operate correctly and to their rated capacities. John Henry Foster Co. (JHF) of St. […]
CCEFP research aims to improve mobile hydraulic efficiency
Transportation is one of the largest segment users of energy in the U.S., consuming 30 quadrillion (quads) of BTUs a year. Making up this segment are light-duty and beyond-light-duty transportation vehicles. Light duty refers to the cars that Americans drive every day. Beyond-light duty refers to everything else, from mobile machinery to large trucks. Mobile […]
What manufacturing can learn from Thailand
Earlier this month, I was part of a journalist delegation to Thailand, the Southeast Asian country that’s probably known more for tourism than industrial engineering prowess. But after a week of touring manufacturing facilities that included such international heavyweights as Caterpillar and Nissan, I left with a new mindset for how industry needs to succeed […]
Q&A with igus’ CEO, Frank Blase
I had the pleasure of touring the international headquarters of igus just after the Hannover Fair this year, and also was able to sit with company CEO Frank Blase. The facility is enormous, yet intelligently designed—it doesn’t feel like a manufacturing plant, due to the light that comes in through strangely organic looking skylights. Walk […]
Bosch Community Fund grants support STEM education
Robert Bosch LLC and Bosch Rexroth Corporation have announced the latest Bosch Community Fund (BCF) grants in support of STEM education – which includes science, technology, engineering and math – important foundations for today’s students as they prepare for careers in the increasingly important fields of engineering and manufacturing. The Bosch Community Fund awarded four […]
CCEFP update: Varying pump flow rates
There are several hydraulic applications that require varied flow rates. Traditionally, this was achieved by using a fixed-displacement pump and a metering valve that throttles the flow across an orifice. This is an extremely inefficient control method that converts waste energy into heat. A better method of control is to use a variable displacement hydraulic […]
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 […]
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 […]
