Air Engineering and Supply, a major Midwest distributor of Fluid Power and Pneumatic components and value-added assemblies, recently received two awards for outstanding sales and growth from Clippard Instrument Laboratory, Inc., of Cincinnati, Ohio. Clippard is a global leading designer and manufacturer of miniature fluid and pneumatic products used in automation machinery, hydraulic equipment, packaging […]
Hydraulic unit expands beyond home factory
MJC Engineering is a custom machine tool builder in Huntington Beach, Calif., specializing in metal-spinning machines for sheet spinning, flow forming, wheel spinning and others. MJC machines typically use large volumes of hydraulic power in operation. About three years ago, the president at MJC, Carl Lorentzen, began investigating the configuration of the hydraulic units used…
New accumulator cylinder from Freudenberg
The larger a tractor’s footprint, the less it compacts the soil. To minimize compaction, global machinery manufacturer CLAAS has introduced a tractor with a track drive that integrates newly developed accumulator cylinders from Freudenberg Sealing Technologies. They combine the functions of a hydraulic cylinder and a hydraulic accumulator in a single system. This makes installation […]
Hydraulics and drive control help moveable bridge
Edited by Mike Santora Bosch Rexroth, a drive and control solutions company introduced a new system concept of electro-hydraulic drives targeted at large civil engineering and infrastructure projects, such as ship locks and movable bridges. The system has a compact hydraulic cylinder with integrated servo-hydraulics. The new actuators use a closed loop system, which means…
NFPE control option for MP1 pumps
Danfoss Power Solutions introduces a new Non-Feedback Proportional Electric (NFPE) control option for its MP1 closed circuit axial piston pumps. The MP1 already provides modular configuration for manufacturers seeking a reliable pump, and the NFPE control expands the MP1 control portfolio for further customization. The NFPE control will be available in the first quarter of […]
Pneumatic grippers for cobots
By Walt Hessler Edited by Mike Santora The simple definition of the word collaboration is: “The action of working with someone to produce or create something.” This is the exact purpose of a Collaborative Robot, or cobot. Cobots are typically power and force limiting. The robot can feel abnormal forces in its path and may […]
Green hydraulic power in a quiet system
The manufacturing industry has seen vast improvements in technology over the past 30 years. Machines are faster, quieter, and more versatile than ever before. However, the hydraulic power unit, famous for occupying the dirtiest and noisiest corner of any shop, has changed very little. An electric motor drives a hydraulic pump, which pressurizes a fluid…
Hydraulics help take athletic track to the next level
The University of Michigan’s new athletic facility features a hydraulically operated running track that can be elevated and banked. To create the track, Beynon Sports Surfaces, a manufacturer of athletic surfaces and indoor running tracks, went to long-time partner, Mitchell Machine Works. MMW is responsible for creating the hydraulics system that adjusts the shape of…
High-tech compounds against explosive decompression
Sealing compounds used in the applications above often create a barrier against gaseous media if highly pressurized gas falls to a very low-pressure level within a very short period of time. The result of this process is often a damage of the sealing. The elastomer material is either torn in various places or blistering on […]
FPDA Tom D. Ralls Memorial Scholarship application
Applications for the FPDA Tom D. Ralls Memorial Scholarship to attend UID in March are now online. The meeting is an excellent opportunity for a YES member to gain a great deal of knowledge on the wholesale distribution industry. The scholarship was created to create the opportunity to connect with other like-minded colleagues in the […]
Custom-made seals for the pharmaceutical industry
The EPDM high-performance material for the medical technology, pharmaceutical industry and biotechnology The special material in the COG HygienicSeal series has been granted the most important approvals for application in these highly demanding industries. As well as the harmlessness test according to FDA 21. CFR 177.2600, AP 306 is approved according to USP class VI […]
COG FKM seal material Vi 840
One of the central demands from the valve sector and gas industry has been for a seal material that has suitable low-temperature flexibility, and which conforms to the DIN EN 14141 standard. Up until now, there simply hasn’t been a suitable FKM seal material available. But now, the independent seal manufacturer COG has developed a […]
What you need to know about hydraulic flow meters
By Martin Cuthbert, Managing Director, Webtec Ltd What is flow? Flow is the measurement of the volume of a liquid that passes a fixed point in a unit of time. For most hydraulic applications, flow is measured in liters per minute (lpm), U.S. gallons per minute (US gpm), or, occasionally, U.K. gallons per minutes (UK…
NFPA education roundup: STEM initiatives abound in fluid power
High school students engage at Manufacturing Day Event On Manufacturing Day 2016, Paragon Technologies invited 35 students from Centerline High School to participate in hands-on, interactive tours of its Warren, Michigan facility. Paragon partnered with Macomb County Economic Development Committee, the Macomb County School Superintendents, and educators with a goal to engage 2,000 local students by opening the […]
IFPS to hold annual meeting in September
The IFPS 2017 annual meeting will be held September 25-28 at The Alexander in Indianapolis. In addition to committee and board meetings, optional events are planned throughout the week. A Technical Workshop, “International Standard IEC 61131 for Programmable Logic Controllers” will be presented on Monday. This workshop will present complete coverage of the syntax, operands, […]
Pack Expo returns to Vegas
Pack Expo will be held Monday, September 25th through Wednesday, the 27th at the Las Vegas Convention Center from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. The event brings together more than 2,000 suppliers of advanced packaging equipment, materials, containers, and automation technologies including several pneumatics and hydraulics manufacturers. Attendees run the gamut, from plant […]
Fluid power and the age of digitization
Not too many years ago, one could still find a small number of IoT skeptics amongst fluid power professionals. Today, however, it’s become difficult for those last few IoT holdouts to substantiate their apprehension. There are the companies that have embraced IoT potential, and made it a core innovation initiative, and there are those that…
Offshore Technology Conference 2017 preview
The Offshore Technology Conference will be held at NRG Park in Houston May 1-4, 2017 Edited by Mike Santora Energy industry professionals will return to Houston yet again this year for the annual Offshore Technology Conference (OTC). OTC is the largest oil and gas industry event in the world. The event will have more than…
Pneumatic automation in textile industry with fluidic muscle
Edited by Mike Santora Wernli was the first textile manufacturer in the world to produce colored dressing materials. Now its cohesive and adhesive elastic bandages, as well as compression bandages, show it continues to be on the cutting edge. Innovations like bandages with sensors for measuring fever or for therapeutic pressure regulation – coupled with […]
NFPA Industry trends for Feb. 2017
The latest data published by the National Fluid Power Association shows industry shipments of fluid power products for February 2017 increased 2.5% compared to February 2016, and increased 1.0% when compared to last month. Pneumatic shipments increased, industrial hydraulic shipments remained unchanged, and mobile hydraulic shipments decreased in February 2017 when compared to February 2016.…
Transporting and maneuvering in suspension with superconductivity
At the Hannover Messe trade fair, Festo is showcasing three new Future Concepts for automation with superconductor technology. Festo is showcasing three new, exciting concepts for the industrial application of superconductor technology at the Hanover Messe 2017. With SupraDrive a suspended transport sledge can operate highly dynamically, with SupraShaker a suspended vibration system with tilting…
A breakthrough innovation for digitalized pneumatics
The machinery and plant construction industry is faced with the challenge of catering to the increasing consumer demand for individually adaptable products at affordable prices. Along with the continuing need for mass-produced goods for the world’s population, which will soon reach the eight-billion mark, demand is also growing for small-series production down to lot size…
Festo online press conference
The key topic of the Hannover Messe 2017 trade fair, “Integrated Industries, Creating Value”, is concerned with competitive advantage through digitalisation, new business models and added value through intelligent technology, and the networking of humans and machines. Prior to the fair, Festo is introducing “Festo Motion Terminal” along with future-oriented technologies as part of its…
Festo’s bionic approach to robotics
Lightweight robots with pneumatic drives working in collaboration with humans, and a gripper modeled on the octopus’s tentacles: the engineers from the Bionic Learning Network of Festo are presenting three future-oriented concepts at the Hannover Messe 2017 trade fair. While the BionicCobot is inspired by the natural movement of the human arm, the BionicMotionRobot is…
The Festo Motion Terminal heralds the beginning of a new era
Pneumatics is intrinsically a user-friendly technology. And it is set to become even more straightforward, versatile and flexible as the brand new Festo Motion Terminal VTEM is catapulting pneumatics into the era of Industry 4.0 ‒ with apps that can replace over 50 individual components. All this is made possible by the latest developments in…