Keeping You Informed
Welcome to the ninth edition of the Fluid Power Handbook. Each year, our editorial staff works hard to add to the detailed information we’ve already accumulated on hydraulic and pneumatic components and systems. Once again this year, we’ve incorporated several new frequently asked questions into many of the Handbook sections, dealing with sizing, selection and specific component types. Additionally, you will see new briefs in a few categories — compact pneumatic cylinders, hydraulic hose, HPUs, and fluids — where we worked with distributors and system integrators to highlight how fluid power technologies improved machine and system designs. We plan to expand these case histories in 2021 — please let us know about any stories that you may like to see!
Fluid power systems are comprised of components that include pumps, cylinders, valves, hose, fittings, gauges, sensors, filters, seals, and reservoirs. Some components are considered absolute necessities, while others are optional and used to refine the system for more precise operation or to increase the lifespan of the system or its individual parts. Throughout this handbook, we detail many of the more common and widely used components, explaining their operation, their place in the system, and how an engineer should correctly specify them.
While fluid power can be used in almost any industry or application, it is commonly seen in markets that include packaging, off-highway, mining, offshore/marine, medical, material handling, construction, aerospace, automation, robotics, and entertainment.
This year, as we continue to deal with the Coronavirus pandemic, we understand more than ever the importance of being a source of knowledge for the industry. This is why we continue to publish basics info in this Handbook as well as in all of our publications. It is also why we try to find new avenues to help current and future users of fluid power systems understand these technologies.
We have pivoted with our Fluid Power Technology Conference and for the time being, have turned it into a virtual event. Every other Tuesday at 2 p.m., you can register to attend a session by industry experts and manufacturers themselves to learn about trends in fluid power, technologies basics and more. Additionally, we are continuing our partnership with LunchBox Sessions’ Carl Dyke, for his every-other-Tuesday YouTube live series, in which he uses his on-site trainer and popular Live Schematics to bring specific technologies to life for viewers.
While some say that fluid power is a static, mature technology, there’s still much in store for the technology. We have discovered with the shutdown that occurred this year just how essential fluid power really is and we’re happy to report on the innovations that continue in our industry. We may be down, but we’re certainly not out.
Mary C. Gannon,
Editor
mgannon@wtwhmedia.com
@DW_marygannon