Alan Hitchcox

Stainless steel air cylinders now come in 9⁄16-in. bore. With strokes to 4 in. Available in stud or universal mount, double, single, or reverse acting, and with rotating or non-rotating rod. As with other sizes in line, they have polished bore, rolled construction with machined aluminum heads, sintered bronze bushing, ground, polished and roller burnished 303 stainless rod, and Buna-N U-cup piston and rod seals.

Clippard Instrument Laboratory,
(877) 245-6247, www.clippard.com

Forget about expensive fiber optics and temperamental digital controls. Elliott Equipment Co., Omaha, recently developed a full-hydraulic upper platform control package for its HiReach aerial work platform product line. Hydraulic valves and actuators are typically used for moving and positioning aerial booms and platforms, but electronic controls usually command solenoid-operated electrohydraulic valves.

Reducing noise in the workplace has become a necessity for many companies, and both industrial and mobile hydraulic systems have been identified as significant contributors. One of the main generators of noise in a hydraulic system is the pump and the pulsating flow it produces. A new pump that uses helical gearing creates a single point of contact between teeth, thus reducing noise and fluid pulsation.

SS100 Series air starters from Ingersoll Rand can start engines up to 10 liter displacement. Compared to electric starters, the SS100 Series is a fraction of the size. This feature is especially important in meeting Tier IV requirements, which make engine compartment space more precious than ever.

The IFPE Education Committee issued a call for papers for the next IFPE Technical Conference, which will be part of IFPE 2014. Scheduled for March 4 to 8, 2014 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. IFPE 2014 is an international exposition and technical conference dedicated to integrating fluid power with other technologies for power transmission and motion control applications. It will be held in conjunction with ConExpo/ConAgg, which is conducted by The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM).

As designers have learned more about the detriments of hydraulic fluid contamination, they’ve been incorporating techniques to keep dirt and moisture out of hydraulic systems. Reservoirs have been one of the most common points of entry for dirt and moisture. Fortunately, filter breathers that incorporate moisture-adsorbing desiccant provide a simple and inexpensive way to keep dirt and water out of reservoirs.