I am a semi-regular contributor to the Hydraulics and Pneumatics forum (and you should be too, if you’re of mind to learn more about fluid power, or contribute to posts if you want to help others learn), where users posts questions, offer advice or just present ideas and trends in the industry. The forum is open to everyone, and I suggest you join if you haven’t already.
I’ve been on the forum since 2008, back when the legendary Bud Trinkel – long-time contributor to Hydraulics & Pneumatic, prolific educator and personal mentor – was also a regular contributor to the message board, until his passing in 2009.
The forum has grown a lot in four years, but there has always been an interesting constant – a topic of contention that seems to live on, refusing to die, like a zombie (co-incidentally, what my four-year-old son wants to be for Hallowe’en, although I’m not sure he understands the scope in which he’ll be converted by my hands into an epic movie-quality zombie). That topic of topic is whether hydraulic systems create motion via flow or force.
There are the die-hards who cling to “Flow Makes it Go,” with the belief that hydraulic cylinders and motors move because fluid flows through them. On the other side of the debating floor, some claim that “Force Makes it Go," and actuators move because pressure is acting upon them. Each have their arguments, such as using the flow calculations for cylinder cycle times to argue the prior point, and Newton’s Laws of Motion to contend for the latter point.
I know which side I’m on, and although my ability to back up my claim with differential calculus isn’t as strong as some of the others, I bring some valid arguments to the table. Which side are you on? Visit the forum and create a discussion, or involve yourself with some of the previous threads. We’d love to see you there!