Bigger and better in Milwaukee

The Fluid Power Technology Conference returns to MSOE’s Kern Center May 13-15.

With its return to Milwaukee for the fourth year, the Fluid Power Technology Conference continues to grow.The expanded three-day program includestechnical presentations geared towardsOEM design engineers and after-marketprofessionals in the maintenance, serviceand repair sectors; IFPS certification testing;networking; and opportunities to meet withcurrent MSOE students. This year’s eventruns May 13-15 at the Milwaukee School ofEngineering’s Kern Center.

On May 13, pre-conference workshops will be presented by Tom Wanke, CFPAI, of MSOE and Tom Blansett, CFPAI, of the International Fluid Power Society, with full-day sessions titled “Fluid Power Basics 101” and “Advanced Hydraulics Mashup.” In addition, the IFPS will be offering its certification tests, including:

• Specialist – Electronic Controls Specialist (ECS)

• Hydraulic Specialist (HS)

• Pneumatic Specialist (PS)

• Mechanic and Technician tests (MHM, MHT, IHM, IHT, PM, PT) both written and job performance

Candidates should register at ifps.org/ certifications-offered. There, they should select the certification they are interested in. Once a certification is selected, the candidates should use zip code 53202 and test date May 13, 2019 when selecting Test Location & Date on the Test Application.

Individuals who register for IFPS certification tests will also receive 25% off their registration for the Fluid Power Technology Conference.

HUSCO International will provide a tour of its facility Monday evening. Registration is required.

The following two days will be packed with more than 20 technical presentations led by industry experts, Canada’s preeminent fluid power trainer Carl Dyke, Fluid Power World’s own Josh Cosford, and experts from the manufacturers themselves. New this year will be presentations dedicated to compressed air efficiency for plant maintenance personnel, presented by Joe Ghislain, Principal, GOE (Ghislain Operational Efficiency) LLC.

Register at fluidpowertechconference.com.

Tuesday, May 15

Registration opens at 7 a.m. on Tuesday. This day’s agenda includes:

8:00-9:00 – Optional tours of MSOE’s Grohmann Museum and Fluid Power Institute Lab / Rapid Prototyping Center. Registration is required.

9:00-10:00 — Opening Keynote: Robotics solutions for small-to-medium manufacturers, by Dan Kara, VP Robotics at WTWH Media. A large percentage of small-to-medium manufacturers have missed out on many of the benefits of robotic industrial automation such as increased productivity, improved quality and enhanced competitiveness. Rapid change, however, is underway. Both traditional industrial robotics companies, as well as a number of new vendors, are providing products and services specifically designed to satisfy the requirements and support the culture of the sizable and underserved small-to-medium manufacturer market. In this session, attendees will learn about these new products and services. Real world case studies will be presented to illustrate salient points.

10:00-10:30 — Exhibition Opening/Networking Break

10:30-11:00 — Breakout 1: Solutions for multiple hydraulic connections: Ready, set, connect! How hydraulic multi-connectors can work for you, by Ryan Kay, Sales Manager, CEJN

10:30-11:00 — Breakout 2: Development of an innovative diaphragm accumulator design and assembly process, by Thomas Fröhlich, Leader of Global Accumulator Marketing & Sales for Freudenberg Sealing Technologies

11:00-11:30 — Breakout 1: A new kind of iron: Solution strengthened ductile iron, by Jason Parr, Product Manager, Dura-Bar

11:00-11:30 — Breakout 2: Torque and tightening: The importance of properly installing hydraulic adapters, tubes and hoses, by Dave Murray, Western US Sales Manager and Chris Restorick, Eastern Regional Sales Manager for Tompkins Industries

1:00-2:00 — Keynote: The five pillars of strategic thinking, by Mark L. Thompson. Stop wasting your time on Strategic Planning and Start Thinking Strategically to achieve Competitive Advantage for Exponential Results. Sponsored By ESA. See sidebar for more details.

2:00-2:45 — Breakout 1: Learning pumps and pump controls with LunchBox Sessions Simulations, by Carl Dyke, founder of CD Industrial Group

2:00-2:45 — Breakout 2: Compressed air efficiencies, by Joe Ghislain, Joe Ghislain, Principal, GOE (Ghislain Operational Efficiency) LLC.

2:45-3:15 — Exhibition/Networking Break

3:15-3:45 — Breakout 1: How cosimulation ensures product reliability and efficiency, by Denis Lenoble, Product Manager for Automation Studio at Famic Technologies

3:15-3:45 — Breakout 2: Put your cylinder on stage: Introducing today’s telescopic cylinder, by Tony Casassa, Application Engineer, Aggressive Hydraulics

3:45-4:30 — Mobile Hydraulics Panel: A panel of mobile machine manufacturers will be represented by Gary Dostal, Manager, Mechanical Engineering, Komatsu Mining Corp.; Gary Kassen, Engineering Director for Hydraulics and Pneumatics, CNH Industrial; and Gregory Downs, CFPE, CFPS, Senior Principal Engineer, Zoomlion Heavy Industry NA Inc. They will be talking about the hydraulics versus electrics debate, what’s on the horizon for mobile hydraulics technology, and what OEMs want to see from hydraulic manufacturers. See sidebar for more details.

4:30-5:30 — Exhibition/Networking Reception

Wednesday, May 16

Wednesday morning begins with registration starting at 7:30 a.m. The agenda includes the following:

8:30-9:30 — Opening Keynote: The Evolution of Advanced Automation, by Donna Ritson, President of DDR Communications. Attendees will learn about the advancements in automation and the influence of technological breakthroughs that are impacting the industry for years to come. The presentation will review the role of pneumatics in automation, the reasons driving embedded intelligence, and the growth of smart machines on the plant floor. See sidebar for more details.

9:30-10:00 — Breakout 1: Sponsored session, by Michael H. Eisinger, CFPS, Sales Manager/Hydraulics - Key Accounts, Dynamatic US LLC and

9:30-10:00 — Breakout 2: Telematics for off-highway machines, by Eric Ringholm, Division Manager – Electronics, HYDAC

10:00-10:30 — Breakout 1: Automating hydraulic cylinders — 5 things to consider, by Douglas Lacina, Commercial Director and Peter Frymark, Engineering Team Leader, Milwaukee Cylinder

10:00-10:30 — Breakout 2: Model based design to accelerate innovation, by Céline Cabana, Technical Account Manager, FD-Groups America

10:30-11:30 — Exhibition/Networking Break

11:30-12:00 — Breakout 1: Worst to best practices in hydraulic fluid contamination control, by Carl Dyke, Founder of CD Industrial Group

11:30-12:00 — Breakout 2: Tips on eliminating compressed air waste, by Joe Ghislain, Joe Ghislain, Principal, GOE (Ghislain Operational Efficiency) LLC.

12:00-1:00 — Exhibition/Luncheon

1:00-1:30 — Breakout 1: Hydraulic fluid conditioning system optimization through Helgesen design technology and the hydraulic reservoir, by Todd Gruszynski, Business Development Manager, Helgesen

1:00-1:30 — Breakout 2: Making configuration and CAD easy for everyone, by Bill Terrill, Territory Manager, Fabco-Air Inc.

1:30-2:00 — Breakout 1: Breakout 2: Follow the heat, by Josh Cosford, General Manager, Higginson Equipment

1:30-2:00 — Breakout 2: Sponsored session by Delta Computer

2:00-2:45 — Closing Session: Hydraulic system schematic reading skills with live schematics - Carl Dyke

To register and for the latest schedule updates, visit fluidpowertechconference.com.

Host University: Milwaukee School of Engineering

Platinum sponsors: ESA Fabco-Air Hydac Technology Corp.

Gold sponsors: Aggressive Hydraulics CEJN Delta Computer Systems Dura-Bar Dynamatic Technologies Famic Technologies Inc. Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies Grimstad Milwaukee Cylinder OEM Controls Thomas Magnete USA LLC Tompkins Industries Inc. WIKA

Exhibitors: FD Groups America Inc. Helgesen IC Fluid Power Inc. MTS Sensors NitroSteel, a division of Premier Thermal Solutions R&J Cylinder and Machine Techniques Surfaces USA Inc. Webtec

Media and industry association sponsors: Canadian Fluid Power Society ESA Fluid Power World International Fluid Power Society Milwaukee School of EngineeringThe Robot Report

Keynote: the evolution of advanced automation

Dona Ritson

The growth in plant floor automation and integrated communications is at a pivotal junction; new technology is available and adoption is underway, said Donna Ritson, President of DDR Communications, regarding her keynote presentation at this year’s FPTC.

With a deeper focus on pneumatics and best practices in industrial manufacturing this year, the FPTC welcomes Ritson, who will open day two of the conference at 8:30 a.m.

Her presentation, “The evolution of advanced automation” will higlight the advancements in automation and the influence of technological breakthroughs that are impacting the industry for years to come. The presentation will review the role of pneumatics in automation, the reasons driving embedded intelligence, and the growth of smart machines on the plant floor.

“It’s not a matter of if CPG companies will adopt automation, but a matter of when,” said Ritson. “The Evolution of Advanced Automation presentation reports that most CPGs are automating in order to achieve greater operational efficiencies for their plants and remain competitive in the marketplace.”

Ritson has indicated that some companies are further along in automating their operations than others. Findings in the report indicate that only 1 in 5 companies have fully integrated production lines. “Look at it as a marathon,” she said. “The companies that are going to get to fully industry 4.0 automation are your leaders in the industry. And everyone else is going to be spread out across the path. Everyone has crossed the starting line, and they understand that they’re in the race and need to keep going . . . most CPG companies are in the process and on the path to automation.”

Ritson will cover these six trends driving plant floor automation:

• Lack of skilled labor, labor shortages

• Global increase in product demand

• Rising demand for flexible manufacturing

• Producing products with consistent quality

• Overall operating cost reductions

• Smart machine technology and robotics

Keynote: Strategic thinking with Mark Thompson

During the post-lunch keynote on Tuesday, Mark Thompson, partner with Decision Processes International will teach attendees how to stop wasting time on strategic planning and start planning strategically to achieve competitive advantage and results.

“A Wall Street Journal survey just listed strategic thinking as the # 1 skill that executives need to have. Further the survey revealed that only 3 out 10 executives are strategic thinkers. This results in the development of benign strategies and the lack of effective execution,” Thompson said.

Thompson will teach attendees how to move above strategic planning to generate new insights.

“The participants learn how to begin to think strategically. Through a series of examples, they will see how completely different companies applied strategic thinking,” he said. “This allows them to begin to think differently about their organizations than they ever had before and to achieve greatly improved financial performance.”

“Pause to validate your strategy prior to criticizing tactics and execution. Think strategically for the generation and application of insights on a continual basis to produce competitive advantage,” Thompson concluded. “Strategic Planning is the channeling of those insights into goals and objectives to execute the strategy. Unfortunately, companies spend their time day to day working on applying old insights.”

Panel: The future of mobile hydraulics

Mobile hydraulics is often the elephant in the room when people talk about fluid power. This portion of the industry is one that’s fast moving, innovative and gets people’s attention. Even little kids dream of someday driving a backhoe or a huge hydraulic dump truck. But what’s new in the field today, and how will mobile hydraulics change in the coming decade?

That will be the focus of our exciting panel at this year’s Fluid Power Technology Conference in Milwaukee. The Future of Mobile Hydraulics has three incredible speakers from top mobile equipment manufacturers:

• Gary Dostal, Komatsu Mining Corp.

• Greg Downs, Zoomlion Heavy Industry NA Inc.

• Gary Kassen, CNH Industrial

Editorial Director Paul Heney will moderate this dynamic panel discussion, where they’ll talk about how the hydraulics versus electrics debate has been playing out the last few years, what’s on the horizon for mobile hydraulics technology, and what OEMs want to see from hydraulic component manufacturers in the next couple of years.

Will linear actuators ever have a place on mobile machines? Or will system pressures continue to rise, keeping hydraulics in the driver’s seat? We’ll also explore how far along the integration of the Internet of Things is in mobile machinery, and what that means for hydraulic systems.