By Josh Cosford • Contributing Editor
There’s an unfortunate trend these past few years where the social meta is increasingly binary. No, I’m not talking about gender. I’m a libertarian and live my life honoring the late, great Shock G from Digital Underground; Doowutchyalike. The binary I’m speaking of is the decreasing diversity of the sociopolitical environment equivalent to playing video games in 4K and downgrading to 1-bit electron tubes.
It seems we went from being free minds with a broad spectrum of thoughts, ideas and opinions to being juxtaposed in the unification of two ideas only. If you don’t believe a, b and c while opposing x, y and z, then you’re a fraud and traitor and should be denied participation in reindeer games. What’s that? You’re a pro-life atheist? Huh? You hate guns and socialism? Say what? You love Joe Rogan and The View? Off to the Island of Misfit Toys for you!
Indeed, tribalism manifests through sports, nationality and politics but becomes dangerous when taken to extremes. You’re probably wondering what any of this has to do with fluid power. As much as I love writing about what I think is the best way to design, maintain and use fluid power, I have to remind myself that for every opinion piece I write, there is likely a tribe of fluid power professionals with a different opinion.
I honestly believe that suction strainers are useless and do more harm than good. However, proponents may honestly claim they are inexpensive insurance for expensive pumps and that their failures are a result of a lack of appropriate training. Clearly, the issue is contentious because I’ve never included one in a power unit design, yet I’ve seen them in nearly every old power unit pulled apart for repair. So, do we discount the archaic thinking of fluid power engineers from the 80s while we rebuild an “archaic” power unit that lasted 40 years despite its suction strainer?
Anyone can be forgiven for pushing the limits of engineering with the intent to improve venerable technology. Not so long ago, engineers developed hydraulic hybrids using accumulators to capture kinetic energy to be reverberantly returned to the drive wheels to reduce fuel. But there are many engineers riding the opposing bench who think hydraulic hybrids are stupid — their words, not mine.
Regular readers know I’m not always singing the gospel of gear pumps. They’re inefficient, noisy and often poorly made. But you know what they say: 50,000 Elvis fans can’t be wrong. These pumps are everywhere and, despite their knocks, are the first choice for many designers who can’t be bothered to learn the concepts of a flow-sharing circuit that requires a load-sensing pump. Gear pumps are reliable, easy to understand and readily available. No joke, I was once quoted 72-week delivery for an otherwise standard piston pump because it had roller bearings, so it doesn’t really matter that it was made from unobtanium.
I can’t help but wonder which one of you readers agrees with either side of these coins, so feel free to let me know what you think via e-mail or comments. Are there legitimately wrong choices in fluid power, or is the industry a vibrant tapestry of colorful choices as varied as the designers applying them?
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