Paul Heney

A lot has changed in the Nevada desert since the last show took place in March 2020 — here’s what to expect for 2023 show attendees The last incarnation of IFPE was certainly a weird one; I was one of the few who made it to the triennial fluid power event, just ahead of the…

ELGi Compressors USA Inc. (ELGi), a subsidiary of ELGi Equipments Limited, a compressor manufacturer, announced the strategic rebranding of its portable air compressor line in North America, previously branded as Rotair. ELGi acquired the Italian-based portable air compressor manufacturer, Rotair, in 2012. Rebranding “Rotair” to “ELGi” will strengthen the company’s presence in the North American […]

The piCOMPACT 10X SMART is a compact, efficient, and intelligent ejector that enables you to take the next step in production control and ease of use. Based on COAX technology and integrated IO-Link technology, piCOMPACT 10X SMART offers enhanced flexibility, quicker installation, and improved customization. Building on the air-driven, multistage ejector piCOMPACT 10X, this product comes […]

Denios has introduced the SpillGuard leak recognition system, which instantly alerts users when a leak is detected. This unique, FM-approved technology is placed within the sump of a spill containment device, or near the equipment to be monitored, and alerts users with an audible and visual alarm for a minimum of 24 hours when contact…

A large industrial plant fell on hard times and had to reduce their production shifts to only 8 hours per day, 5 days per week. The compressed air system remained running full time 24 hours a day, including weekends, due to the need to supply the plant’s dry fire system with air pressure. The total […]

Danfoss Power Solutions and Iowa State University have announced the completion of the Off-Highway Vehicle Chassis Dynamometer Laboratory. The facility, developed and administered by Iowa State — with technical and financial support from Danfoss — enables controlled, dynamic testing of construction, agriculture, material handling, mining, and other machinery. It is the only facility of its […]

What should you do when it comes time to decide if you should repair or replace your aging air compressor? There are a few things you should consider. Air compressors are like motor vehicles — if they are used continuously, hardly shutting down, they should not be expected to run for a long time without […]

Question: My compressed air dryer is rated at 100° F inlet air temperature. What will happen if the air temperature is lower than this? Answer: Having the air temperature lower than the dryer rating is a good thing. Actually, dryers are commonly rated at 100° F inlet temperature, 100 psi and 100° F ambient temperature. […]

Running out of pressure? Think about storage volume. Consider this — remember when you had your 10-speed bike with those thin tires? You could ride quite fast, but when it came to filling up the tubes to the proper pressure. all it took was a small shot on the fill valve to change the pressure […]

Pack Expo Southeast will debut spring 2025 in Atlanta (March 10-12 at the Georgia World Congress Center), bringing packaging and processing machinery, materials, and technology all under one roof to a growing manufacturing corridor. The newest show in the Pack Expo portfolio, produced by PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, will offer solutions…

After 10 years of a successful collaboration producing co-located shows at IMTS, both AMT and Hannover Fairs USA have mutually agreed to move in new directions. The move gives Hannover Fairs USA the ability to expand — and both trade shows the flexibility to look into new sectors and initiatives. AMT owns and produces IMTS,…

A sawmill ran a set of six large air-cooled compressors to feed their various processes. To cool the compressors, the air was drawn from outdoors and mixed with indoor air to keep temperatures from freezing the compressors in winter. This facility has a tough environment for cooling air because of the sawdust. To attempt to […]

Danfoss Power Solutions has appointed Ines E. Sira as the new President of its Fluid Conveyance division, effective immediately. Based at the company’s campus in Eden Prairie, Minn., Sira will be a key member of the Power Solutions leadership team and will report directly to Eric Alström, President of Danfoss Power Solutions. Sira has a […]

Question: I’m a compressor salesperson. Lately, the large building tenders we’ve seen have been spec’d for two variable speed screw compressors to run together sharing the load. This would make sense to me if one was a 100% backup and they never ran together, but that does not seem to be the case. Everything I’ve […]

At the recent Danfoss Distributor Meeting in Orlando, Fluid Power World’s VP, Editorial Director, Paul J. Heney, caught up with the company’s President. They discussed the merging in of Eaton’s hydraulics business, the return of beloved fluid power industry names, how the company is changing, and more. FPW: It’s been a bit more than a…

Linde Hydraulics GmbH & Co. KG has relocated its After Sales Center (consisting of repair and spare parts warehouse) from Alzenau to Schweinheim (Aschaffenburg). Amongst other things, the “AB-GUSStech” foundry — a wholly owned subsidiary — and Linde Hydraulics’ Special Construction are already located on this site.  For the relocation of the spare parts business, […]

A large industrial company was having problems with its air quality.  Water was appearing as if at random at one of its most critical processes, causing instrumentation failures and contamination of the product.  This issue was difficult to understand because it looked like the refrigerated air dryer was working fine — and dewpoint looked good […]

There is an old saying about a man with two watches who never knows what time it is. One wonders if this applies to having two flow meters? Fig. 1 shows the comparison of two thermal mass flow meters measuring the same compressed air stream. We can see there is a disparately between the readings, […]

Desperate times call for desperate measures — or at least that is what the maintenance personnel at a chemical plant thought when they had production outages caused by overheating of their water-cooled, lubricant free compressor. So, they rigged up some cooling using a compressed air powered ring jet nozzle (Fig. 1) and directed a flow […]

A compressed air auditor placed data loggers on a single compressor system with a fixed cycle heatless desiccant dryer.  The pressure at the compressor discharge and dry storage tank was also measured, along with the compressor input amps. On examination of the system profile, it was determined the compressor was rapid-cycling due to lower than […]

Question: On our air compressor, we have a drain at the bottom of what looks like a filter, located after the air cooler.  The drain failed so we turned it off … how important is it anyway? Answer: Here is the data you need to know about condensed water flow in compressed air systems (taken from […]

In the compressed air world, the hottest thing in the market lately has been the introduction of variable speed drive controlled compressors. Being hot (as in popular) is good — but being hot as in temperature is not so great. These units, if installed appropriately, can stabilize the air pressure, and save significant amounts of […]

Helios Technologies Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the assets of Daman Products Co. Founded in 1976, Daman is headquartered in Mishawaka, Ind. and is a recognized leader in complex manifold design and manufacturing for precision hydraulic manifolds and related fluid conveyance products. Daman products are used in numerous hydraulics applications for industrial…