Fluid Power Tips

Levers ... seriously?

Fri, 10 May 2013 20:22:00 +0000

What do cable television, the fax machine and a lever-operated hydraulic valve have in common? If you answered, “ripped him? Damn-near killed him!”, well, you’re way off base with that punch line, but I like where your mind is at. If you answered, “none of those objects will be around in a decade,” then give yourself a Kit Kat - and a break if you so choose.

Fluid Power Tips

Certified Fluid Power Yadda Yadda

Tue, 07 May 2013 18:04:00 +0000

The International Fluid Power Society provides training and certification for nearly every facet of fluid power expertise. Although they don’t provide university degrees in fluid power, they have the educational resources to prepare students and employees for their certification exams. The certifications achieved give employers and customers the peace of mind knowing the person whom achieved the qualification has a minimum level of education and understanding in the sub-field of fluid power spelled on the certificate.

Fluid Power Tips

Mythology

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 12:19:00 +0000

Everyone enjoys mythology, and whether it manifests within a person as part of their belief system as to create a reality or it is disregarded as a comical vestige; they persist in society mostly due to the prior. I like to eat a healthy serving of Occam’s razor with a side of Physical Law and a sprinkle of the Scientific Method. Based on that, you won’t find it hard to guess my view on mythology and the supernatural. However, very few myths were created as such, and most were considered fact when they were fresh ideas.

Fluid Power Tips

"Weight" a Minute

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 14:30:00 +0000

I don’t think I bamboozled anyone with my April Fools’ blog on Monday, so I’ll switch back to blogging in reality for another year. I’ve been speaking about accumulators a lot lately, in blogs and on Twitter, so I thought I’d discuss the best – and least often used – version of hydraulic accumulator; the weight-loaded accumulator.

Fluid Power Tips

Superfluidity

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 20:25:00 +0000

Some feel the hydraulic industry is staid and conservative when it comes to advancement. Sure, I’ll admit the fluid power business tends to be evolutionary rather than revolutionary, but there is a recent advancement about to change the whole game.

My regular readers will have picked up that I’m a fan of quantum physics, which is the science of particles at a subatomic level. You can imagine my excitement when a news article came across my desk about a recent advancement in fluid dynamics: Superfluidity.

Fluid Power Tips

Leave it to the Pros

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 19:34:00 +0000

I see numerous hydraulic applications, and I love observing the difference in execution from one machine to the next. The level of quality and implementation varies vastly, with some simple integrated “powerpacks” with tank, endhead, motor and pump all in one small unit, or gigantic power and control systems running hundreds of horsepower and thousands of gallons of fluid.

Fluid Power Tips

An Accumulation of Sorts

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 18:42:00 +0000

Accumulators are an extraordinary tool in the Snap On chest of hydraulic apparatuses. They can provide the answer at least half a dozen questions including, “how do I create more peak flow” or “how can I provide emergency flow during a power failure,” et al. Maybe in a future blog I’ll discuss how an accumulator can dampen pressure spikes or provide leakage compensation, but in this issue I want to discuss the use of accumulators to provide or supplement flow.

Fluid Power Tips

Superiority Complex

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 16:52:00 +0000

What makes a superior hydraulic circuit? I know that question is elusive, because hydraulic system beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and there is more than one way to skin a cat. There is also more than one way to skin a cliché, but I digress.

Fluid Power Tips

Your the BOM

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 18:36:00 +0000

“Your the BOM!” That little quip is dedicated to the person who decorated my birthday cake a couple weeks ago. As a writer, I’m obviously a stickler for grammar. Imagine my humour when my wife brings home my delicious ice cream cake with “Happy Birthday Daddy Your Old” written atop in electric blue icing. She knows me well, so she didn’t dream for an instant to have them correct the grammar. If you’re reading this and don’t know what the error is, then please do not get into cake decorating.

Fluid Power Tips

Case Drain

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 20:12:00 +0000

Preventive maintenance is a must for hydraulic systems, and the range in which it is taken seriously is vast. Some machines are old as dirt, with original filters, but somehow still run. Other machines can be meticulously looked after, but still have inexplicable failures, such as a worn out pump.

Fluid Power Tips