Fluid Power World Magazine Articles

I’m not out here trying to be a climate denier, but I’m also not going to deny that these past few winters and springs have been absolute trash. There’s been too much cold, too much snow, and too much rain. Yes, yes, I’ve heard that places like the Southwest have been extraordinarily hot on occasion,…

Anyone that says American manufacturing is dead has not been paying attention. As a Greater Clevelander, I know well how many small, medium and large manufacturing facilities dot our landscape. The same goes for the entire country, really. The east and west coasts are home to high-tech advanced manufacturing, and you can’t drive through most…

By Josh Cosford, Contributing Editor According to Globe Newswire, the global hydraulics market is going to expand from $39.4 billion to $44.3 billion over the next five years. We’re not talking about finance industry-level revenues here, but I can happily handle 2.4% compound annual growth rates in what is supposed to be our “mature industry.”…

By Darrell Taylor • Director of Global Acoustics Business Development, Teledyne FLIR We live in a society that wants things quicker, builds bigger, and travels faster. The machines that put this world together work longer and harder than ever. At the core of these machines, one type of power transfer is commonplace — namely, hydraulic…

Rob Shepherd, professor of mechanical engineering at Cornell University, wants to make agile robots that can operate untethered for longer — and he’s using hydraulic fluid to do it. “Hydraulic fluids are a great way to get high power output from robots, but people prefer to use batteries powering dc motors,” he said. “I started…

Forestry has a bad rap for devastating ecosystems now lined with dusty stumps where lush foliage and wildlife used to exist. The imagery is saddening and requires an examination of conscience and behavior. Through a different lens, however, the forestry industry can be seen as an ally against future deforestation. Companies that want to make…

Cobalt, copper, lithium, and nickel are among “the electric 18” critical materials needed for clean energy production, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Average consumers driving EVs, installing solar panels on their roofs, and coordinating their lives via smartphones may not connect the dots as they oppose mining operations in the U.S. But the…

Will hydraulics ever get past the leakage issue? I’ve heard people discuss this question countless times over the three decades that I’ve worked in and written about the technology. Time and time again, people bash this useful technology because of perceived problems with leakage. I have encountered this negative talk on factory floors, in educational…

Over the weekend, I attempted to repair my seven-year-old’s battle-smashing toy. Though it’s designed to withstand rough handling and abuse, one of the key features stopped functioning, which degraded the toy’s allure. However, there was no way I would surrender my investment and chalk it up to, “Well, honey, that’s what happens when we play…

I recently asked ChatGPT what “intelligence” means. It told me that intelligence is a complex and multi-faceted trait, generally consisting of three key aspects: cognitive abilities (learning, reasoning, and problem-solving), emotional intelligence (empathy, self-awareness, and emotional regulation), and practical intelligence (street smarts or common sense). It also informed me that since its last knowledge update…

Engineering is a never-ending problem-solution spiral. That’s honestly one of the things I love about it. Solutions adapt proactively and reactively as the world evolves and technologies and materials advance. There’s always a new challenge, a new regulation, a new crisis, or a shift in human perspective or behavior that prompts change. I recently interviewed…

This biennial event returns to the Las Vegas Convention Center on September 11–13. Pack Expo Las Vegas 2023 is pegged as “the most comprehensive packaging and processing event in North America this year.” And as part of its commitment to sustainability, show producer PMMI (the Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies), its partners, vendors, and…

NFPA’s annual International Economic Outlook Conference, held in suburban Chicago this week, provided an overview of the current economic landscape, exploring both U.S. and global macro trends and the ramifications for fluid power manufacturers. Here’s a breakdown of some of the main ideas from this week’s event: U.S. dominance: With a quarter of the global…

As a natural-born tree-hugger, some wonder why I’m an editor for fluid power and manufacturing publications. Wouldn’t a person who values environmentalism participate in more “green” efforts? Yet, I cover mobile machines that cut down trees, hydraulic systems that rely on oil rigs, and automation equipment that expedites manufacturing (and subsequently creates more stuff that…

Every year, the NFPA holds a Fluid Power Vehicle Challenge for engineering students who attend universities around the U.S. The competition combines two technology platforms not normally associated with one another — human-powered vehicles and fluid power. Teams are tasked with designing and building their own fluid power vehicles over the course of a school…

One of the things I love about the triennial IFPE Show in Las Vegas is that I always get new insights on component manufacturers, even ones I thought I knew well. Such was the case this year in talking to Matt Grussing, Director of Sales – Western Region & Key Accounts, at Bailey International. I’ve…

As a new editor of Fluid Power World, I’m granted the privilege of meeting people and attending industry events with fresh eyes. I’ve heard stories of this tight-knit fluid power community and how passionate everyone is about the industry. Though I arrive with an open mind and eagerness to learn, my expectations continue to shatter…

We’re all looking forward to the IFPE show next month, but the show’s operator, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), has also been busy with other matters. This past October, the association surveyed 179 equipment manufacturing executives to find out their thoughts on supply chain disruptions and bottlenecks — and the impact it has had…

The triennial fluid power megashow returns to Las Vegas from March 14-18. The fluid power industry’s biggest event returns to the Las Vegas Convention center this March, with 375 component manufactures expected on the show floor. Exhibitors will include those focused on electrical & mechanical power transmission, industrial hydraulics, mobile hydraulics, pneumatics, and water hydraulics.…

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…

By Josh Cosford, Contributing Editor Many unique hydraulic applications offer the power and reliability needed by CNC machines. Hydraulics provides an invaluable tool for machine tool designers to perform powerful and practical functions to improve the performance and reliability of their CNC lathes, mills and other machines. A machine tool is a machine that cuts,…

Offshore supply chain snarls, national-security concerns and the pandemic have all heightened the focus on domestic manufacturing capabilities. A new concept that is currently under development — metamorphic manufacturing — may usher in the capacity for local, flexible production that is especially suited for rapid and economical fabrication of small batch, complex, customized parts with…

Soon after I began to cover fluid power back in the mid 1990s, I heard the drumbeat from many worried hydraulic component manufacturers — the electrics are coming to get us. There was a lot of fear (as well as a lot of doubt in some corners) that someday, electric actuators would replace hydraulic cylinders.…

History and baseball are intertwined at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Whenever a Phillies’ player hits a home run or the game is won, the iconic Liberty Bell swings and chimes. But getting fans excited with this experience was a bit of a struggle in recent years, as the bell’s hydraulic control system was older…