BRITISH & METRIC FLUID CONVEYING PRODUCTS

5 Important Considerations for Sourcing Fluid Power Projects

For various reasons, you may need to source a new hydraulic or pneumatic system. The driver might be the need for increased production, or the current system may have obsolete components, or a new piece of equipment is being built and the fluid power system will be purchased separately. No matter the reason, it is important toDsc 3076 Power Unit V05 Hr select a supplier who can correctly assess the requirements and provide a start-to-finish project that will meet or exceed expectations. This will include system design, engineering, fabrication and on-site startup if necessary. In many cases, you may require the supplier to provide installation, including using their service technicians or hiring contractors. Below are some services you’ll want from a quality supplier.

1. Qualified professionals for the on-site assessment
From a technical standpoint, a fluid power specialist should be available for an on-site consult. Fluid power specialists are trained in the principles of both hydraulics and pneumatics, and many of them are certified by the International Fluid Power Society. This organization assesses fluid power skills in specialists, engineers, mechanics and technicians.

In addition to a general evaluation, the fluid power specialist should be able to offer suggestions for improving the basic system requirements by presenting the latest component technologies and practices that can help improve system performance, efficiency, reliability and lifecycle.

The specialist must also be familiar with the application of electrical and automation solutions. The final design commonly includes motor starters, heaters, sensors and other instrumentation, which requires familiarity with the latest IIoT technology. These system upgrades allow for network connectivity to be used in remote monitoring of system health and reliability. Turnkey systems may require the specialist to incorporate these components, which means they will work closely with the facility’s electrical, automation and maintenance engineers. The specialist will play a pivotal role in long-term reliability of the system and reduced operational cost throughout its lifetime.

2. In-house engineering services
Following the on-site field assessment, the supplier you choose should have an engineer on staff for project management and detailed system design. The engineer provides the final design, including confirmation of system concept, detailed component selection and circuit design for hydraulic, pneumatic and electrical integration. The engineer should provide fluid power and electrical circuit diagrams, system layout drawings and system fabrication costs. When the design is complete, you should receive the engineering diagrams and a detailed explanation of system performance and expectations.

Read more: 5 Important Considerations for Sourcing Fluid Power Projects

Applications of Hydraulics and Pneumatics

Hydraulics and pneumatics will be a familiar topic for you. Both work using the same principle, Pascal’s law to generate force or motion. The major difference between these two power transferring technique is the medium used. For hydraulics, incompressible fluids are used and for pneumatics, compressed gases are used. The article Hydraulics and Pneumatics will be one useful article if you want to study the difference between these.

In general, hydraulic systems are used for precise controlling of large force applications and pneumatic systems for lightweight and speedy applications. Hydraulic-based components are made using steel and pneumatic components are made using plastics and non-ferrous materials.

Hydraulics and pneumatics have similar functions and working principle. The points provided here will help you to choose the right technique for your application.

  • Consider the environment of your application(temperature, pressure, etc..)
  • Hydraulics is more expensive.
  • Hydraulics utilize less energy than pneumatics
  • Hydraulic equipment requires a power pack for installation and pneumatic equipment can be plugged into a ring main.
  • Hydraulics is suitable for high-pressure applications
  • Hydraulics requires more complicated assemblies and repairing process.

Now, in this article, we can discuss applications of hydraulics and pneumatics. Most of the stationary or mobile equipment you use in your daily life is an application of hydraulics and pneumatics. It is impossible to mention each and every example. Some of the daily used hydraulics and pneumatics applications are listed below.

Hydraulics Applications
Industrial: Electrohydraulics is the mechanism used for controlling the industrial applications of hydraulics. Precise and fast response is an advantage of this. Plastic processing machinery, steel making and primary metal extraction applications, automated production lines, machine tool industry, paper industries, loaders, crushers, presses, textile industry machinery, etc. are some of the examples of industrial hydraulics.
Mobile Hydraulics: In mobile hydraulics, the hydraulic system is controlled manually. Building and construction equipment like cranes, excavators, backhoe, earth moving equipment, etc., tractors, irrigation system, material handling equipment, tunnel boring equipment, rail equipment, etc. are some examples of mobile hydraulics.
Automobiles: Hydraulics have many interesting applications in the automobile industry. Most of the important work using the principle of hydraulics. Power steering, shock absorbers, windshields, and brake are the common applications of hydraulics in vehicles. Two-post lifts and four-post lifts are used in the automobile industry to lift vehicles for servicing and inspecting.
Marine Applications: Hydraulics plays an important role in maintaining the stability and control of ships. Steering gears, bow and stern thrusters, engine room maintenance systems including pumps and jacks, deck machineries like cranes, winches, hatch covers, mooring drums and others are examples of hydraulics in the marine industry.
Aerospace Applications: Airplanes, rockets, spaceships, etc.. use hydraulic systems for various applications. Aerospace industry uses hydraulics for adjusting wings, retraction and extension of landing gears, opening/closing of doors, brakes, steering, etc.
Mining: Hydraulic fracturing is one of the advanced mining technology used for extracting unused gases/oils beneath the earth surface. In this approach, a high-pressure mixture of water, sand and other chemical additives are passed into the cracks.

Read more: Applications of Hydraulics and Pneumatics

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