The International Fluid Power Society (IFPS) honors individuals who have proven their commitment to the fluid power industry and have significantly contributed to technological advancements. At Fluid Power World, our editorial team is thrilled that contributing author Robert Sheaf has been inducted into the Fluid Power Hall of Fame Class of 2024. Sheaf is best…
Troubleshooting challenge: overheating and pump noise on a concrete truck
By Robert Sheaf • Founder of CFC Industrial Training In this month’s challenge, we visit a small concrete supplier. Its mixing truck would run fine when loading and mixing concrete for a customer’s job site. However, when the drum rotation was reversed to discharge the concrete at the job site, the hydrostatic system would start…
Troubleshooting challenge: new valve locks up on rod threading machine
By Robert J. Sheaf, Founder, CFC Industrial A customer of mine has a machine that threads both ends of a straight piece of rod stock which then is fed into a second machine to bend it in a “U” shape. This creates a clamp for various round pipe sizes. They had a problem with…
Troubleshooting Challenge: Cold, weak batteries impact tractor startup
Updated with solution April 18, 2024. By Robert J. Sheaf, Founder, CFC Industrial A student in one of our instructors’ hydraulic classes was having issues with his tractor upon startup. He said that they would sometimes have a tough time starting their John Deere JD 4020 tractor when it was cold or if the battery…
Troubleshooting Challenge: truck assembly line hydrostatic transmission overheating
Contributed by Robert Sheaf • Founder of CFC Industrial Training In this month’s Troubleshooting Challenge, a truck assembly line has a lift system to elevate the transmission into position for bolting it to the engine. The operator complained to the maintenance department that the system was very sluggish to respond to the forward and…
CFC Industrial Training announces next generation of ownership
CFC Industrial Training announces that Janet Turner and Ruth Hoffman, and company President Jon Rhodes acquired the organization from Founder and Owner Bob Sheaf in June. “For 33 years, my father, Bob Sheaf, has poured his heart and soul into CFC,” said Janet Turner. “From humble beginnings, CFC has grown to become a highly respected…
Troubleshooting challenge: Hydrostatically controlled concrete drum only turns in one direction
Updated September 6, 2023 with the solution By Robert J. Sheaf, Founder CFC Industrial The attached circuit was a standard and is still used by some manufacturers that build concrete trucks. It is a simple and inexpensive circuit compared to the latest technology available using pressure-compensated, load-sensing pumps and pressure filters on the charge pump…
Troubleshooting Challenge: System overheating on drum pusher system
A scrap processing company has a large rotating drum that pushes scrap aluminum components into rotating hammers to pulverize the scrap parts into small pieces. They then press the scrap into large bales for easy shipping. The attached circuit is one of the hydraulic systems that runs three functions on the machine. They had problems…