FLUID POWER WORLD JANUARY 2023

FLUIDLINES

Mary C. Gannon • Editor-in-Chief

Leading in a changing industry

As we prepare to head to Las Vegas in March for IFPE and CONEXPO-CON/AGG, it’s clear to see we’re at a crossroads in our industry. Mobile electrification, digitalization, and autonomy are all changing the way mobile machinery is controlled and powered. Fluid power needs to be there leading these changes.

We recognize that our readers are not just attending the biggest show in the construction business and fluid power space in North America for fun — you want to learn from both the OEMs and the technology manufacturers to see what’s new, what’s on the horizon, and how component and system advances will impact your designs in the future.

In this special digital edition, we bring this all together. Here, you’ll find a complete exhibitor list for all CONEXPO-CON/AGG booths, a look at some trends and, of course, some basics on key fluid power technologies that give mobile machinery the power, control, and reliability to build our future.

This first-ever, special edition is just one piece of our IFPE coverage puzzle. Last month, we kicked off our coverage with some special features in the December issue, including a story about what’s new in Vegas — so if you missed it, be sure to read it now. We also launched our Road to IFPE series of e-newsletters and videos as we count down to the show kickoff on March 14th. And of course, our February issue will be chock full of all the critical IFPE details you need to know in one place — show map, full exhibitor list, and show preview — including in-depth looks at the education sessions, trends updates on key fluid power technologies, and highlights on mobile machinery developments.

As we send out this digital edition, we’ll be less than 40 days to IFPE and CONEXPO-CON/AGG. We’re preparing our booth, which will be one of the first you’ll see as you come up the excavators into the South Hall. Please stop by booth SL80022 in the lobby to see all we will be spotlighting — and stay tuned for our February issue, when I will give some more insights into our booth highlights.

We at Fluid Power World are all excited to gather together again at IFPE and CONEXPO-CON/AGG and can’t wait to meet our readers there, as well. See you all in Vegas! FPW

Mary C. Gannon • Editor-in -Chief mgannon@wtwhmedia.com

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Working

towards autonomous vehicle

development

Autonomy is the natural progression of the mobile machinery industry, as it works to embrace productivity and safety.

Edited by Ken Korane, Technology Editor

Courtesy of Adobe Stock

The mobile industry has embraced more advanced technologies like autonomy, digitization and connectivity, said Peter Bleday, head of Danfoss Power Solutions autonomous vehicles group in Cambridge, Mass. Danfoss has had to expand its own product offerings and its PLUS+1 control platform, and also rely on technology partners to leverage and enhance the value they’re delivering to customers.

“Autonomy is the natural progression of the industry,” said Bleday in a special report to IFPE. “Mining, construction, and agriculture have moved from manual labor to pulleys to steam to hydraulics to electronics. We have now arrived at autonomy. Each step has had many benefits, but most of those have centered around productivity and safety. It’s the same for autonomy.”

With autonomous on-highway vehicles seemingly on the brink of becoming commonplace, why not just adopt those systems for off-highway use? “For onhighway, the objective is simple: don’t hit anything,” says Bleday. “That’s admittedly an oversimplification, but it does illustrate the difference to off-highway where equipment is constantly brought into proximity with other

equipment.” Think of a wheel loader and a dump truck. The loader may be doing a V- or Y-pattern loading cycle and then operating within inches of the side of the truck. There is no parallel to that in on-highway vehicles. Offhighway autonomy requires communication between the machines on site but also requires each machine to possess what we would call ‘situational awareness in humans.’”

There’s another important distinction. With on-highway, the design approach is to automate the vehicle. “With off-highway, it’s better to automate the application than the machine.” This is especially true for machines with great versatility, such as skid steer and compact track loaders, and small- to mid-size excavators. Danfoss has PLUS+1 Autonomy Solution software available for a wide variety of applications and is building additional software capabilities for such markets as specialty agriculture, airport ground support equipment, and road building. The Danfoss Autonomy

team has also worked with OEMs in multiple industries to design and build autonomous and semiautonomous systems.

For manufacturers and customers, regardless of their position in the industry, now is the time to come up to speed on what autonomy is, how it’s implemented, the benefits it offers, and the timeline for development and arrival in the marketplace.

Bleday’s presentation at the International Fluid Power Exposition 2023, Advancing Autonomy from Operator Assist to Driverless Vehicles session, will address all these topics. Both OEMs and end users will benefit from attending. Attendees will learn about the complexities and considerations of developing autonomous equipment. End users will learn what benefits they can enjoy by acquiring autonomous machines.

“At its core, our PLUS+1 operating system is integral on the software side of all of our components, whether that be electronics or even drivers and controls for pumps, motors, steering and so on,” he continued. It includes a visual-based software programming tool, libraries

that range from basic logic for components to higher-level tasks like work functions, propulsion, and autonomous operations. It includes more than 300 software blocks and 200 compliance blocks for straightforward design and fast hardware integration — all in an intuitive, drag-and-drop environment. And engineers can test and iterate applications in virtual environments and get a vehicle to market quickly and economically. Lastly, PLUS+1 connect services focus on condition monitoring and connecting the vehicle to the cloud. “It brings together a hardware system and a control system very quickly into one software environment,” he said.

As an example, Bleday discussed how PLUS+1 autonomy relates to the broader PLUS+1 platform. Autonomy relies on a powerful controller capable of handling numerous, high-end sensors. Rather than spending time and expense developing the expertise in-house, Danfoss has expanded sensing capabilities by

The Danfoss PLUS+1 operating system is integral for control of numerous components like hydraulic pumps and motors, electric motors and linear actuators, and HMIs and joysticks. It also includes visual-based software programming tools and libraries that range from basic logic to high-level tasks like work functions, propulsion, and autonomous operations.

bringing third-party products into the PLUS+1 system.

The goal is to provide autonomous functionality and improve the safety, productivity and precision of a vehicle. One interesting case is a vineyard sprayer. These machines have grown larger over the years due to labor shortages, the lack of experienced operators, and the need for higher productivity. Precision control of equipment and sprayers is critical because if vines get damaged they can take years to regrow, resulting in tens of thousands of dollars in lost revenue. Complicating matters, spray nozzles between rows may be out of the operator’s line-of-sight.

The same issues hold in the construction industry, where inexperienced operators are replacing 30-year veterans. Successfully completing tasks like soil compaction and asphalt rolling

require well-honed skills, or else costly rework will be needed or the road will quickly deteriorate.

“How do we leverage the PLUS+1 platform, our autonomous controls and our partners’ capabilities to solve these problems?” Bleday said. That involves what he terms the layers of vehicle intelligence.

At one end we have the execution layer, the pumps, motors, valves, steering, everything that physically propels or executes work functions on a vehicle.

Next is the control layer, the controller, HMI, joystick interface, steering wheel or any interface that guides the execution layer on what to do.

One more level up is the decision layer, which is normally filled by the operator. (Actually, an operator normally handles the next three layers; decision, planning

and perception.) Automating some tasks on a vehicle requires more computing power and control functionality, to replace the brain of that operator. We see a lot more higher-level industrial computers and software coming into the industry, he explained.

The planning layer often involves the machine moving to a specific location to perform a task. The machine interaction can be as simple as interfacing through a display to an operator sitting in the vehicle, or as complex as a sophisticated mining management system that operates multiple autonomous vehicles all at once.

And lastly is the perception layer. This is where Danfoss is leveraging partners for GPS, radar, LIDAR and other sensors that are increasingly essential as vehicles become more autonomous for operator assistance and operator augmentation control.

These advanced sensors, which might have been cost prohibitive 10 years ago, are now affordable thanks to extensive R&D efforts. Because it is virtually impossible for a company to make everything across the board and cover every single use, Danfoss focuses on partnerships with experts like Ouster for LIDAR, Preco radars and Carnegie Robotics for positioning capabilities.

That holds a lot of advantages, said Bleday. Instead of OEMs needing to research and vet suppliers, obtain hardware and drivers, and write software that can take months, Danfoss houses all the necessary information in PLUS+1 system. That makes it as simple as drag-and-drop; even those who aren’t software developers can now integrate capabilities like LIDAR into their applications.

And that’s significant. When we look at a LIDAR, massive amounts of data needs to be instantaneously managed by the vehicle’s control systems, said Bleday. "One of our LIDARs generates 656,000 data points per second, which includes distances, ranges, angles, as well as the intensity being returned," he said. "That data from the perception layer feeds into the decision layer, and turns the data into useful information for the control and execution layers to actually move the vehicle or alert the operator."

By integrating all of these sensors into one platform, OEMs can bring machines to market faster, said Bleday. And with partners, it’s even faster because the capabilities are available directly off the shelf. We’ve really focused on these partner integrations, but also bringing in more of these advanced sensors and similar capabilities into one collection speeds up subsystem and system level development. FPW

Danfoss danfoss.com

Adam Kimmel, Principal and Founder of ASK Consulting Solutions, for IFPE

Emissions from non-road vehicles contribute between 15-20% of unburned hydrocarbon (UHC) and particulate matter (PM) emissions across the U.S. in urban areas. In addition, with the significant greenhouse gas improvements offered by on-road electrification in areas with efficient energy production, it makes sense for mobile machines to employ electric features as well. It is worth noting that "electrification" does not mandate a fullyelectric drivetrain; the term can apply to hybrid engines or electric features that rely on battery power.

Due to the advancements in IoT devices and the continued proliferation of 5G network infrastructure, mobile electrification systems integrate smoothly with smart technology. This pairing enhances the operation and performance of vehicle features at nearly every stage in the development and life cycle. With that in mind, here are five ways electrification is disrupting mobile machines in 2022.

1. Optimize energy efficiency

The most publicized reason for mobile electrification is to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide emitted from the engine. Though most mobile carbon emissions come from on-road vehicles, off-road and heavy-duty vehicles use a significant amount of fuel at relatively low fuel conversion efficiencies.

One application addressing this is the Bosch electric excavator, which uses up to 90 gallons of diesel in an eight-hour workday. The excavator’s size and required amount of fuel prevents direct substitution with hydrogen or a battery. Instead, the design team focused on efficiency to optimize the package space to address the challenge. The project team credited electrification with creating new degrees of freedom that act as levers to pull to maximize energy efficiency. Some examples of the innovative design features are variable-

speed hydraulic pump operation, all-electric slewing gear, and recovering hydraulic energy to supply to the battery, augmenting its capacity to extend its life while enabling a smaller battery size.

The mobile electrification systems’ features reduce the battery requirement byover 30% over the eight-hour day.

2. Increase safety through autonomous features

Electrification and autonomous controls are a natural fit. The more driving tasks the vehicle performs by itself, the more data it needs to process. Therefore, the onboard computer in an electric vehicle would integrate more easily with the autonomous features. Furthermore, with the autonomous features already present in many mobile machines, a traditional internal combustion engine battery may not carry a high enough voltage to process the data.

In addition, designers are developing new mobile electrification systems and sunsetting traditional combustion ones. This landscape creates the opportunity to integrate autonomous features into the vehicles during development versus

retrofitting in a future model. Better integration leads to more rapid data processing and response to safety issues. For example, the vehicle will respond to a component failure quickly and can selfmonitor or execute tasks in dangerous settings without the need for an operator, such as in a mine or low-oxygen location.

3. Predictive maintenance with digital twins and machine learning

Another disruption enabled by electrification is predictive maintenance with a digital twin through improved simulation capability. Digital twins are a model simulation of a real-world asset or system. Similar to how electrification works with autonomous features, engineers can collect and send data from the physical twin to the digital twin to optimize, automate, and refine the simulation model for future designs.

The digital twin can simulate a failure by analyzing sensor data from the physical twin. From there, programmers can create an algorithm that uses machine learning to tune the model to reflect a component failure.

Engineers can then send the algorithm with the failures’ data signatures to the physical twin, which can predict and alert operators to an impending failure. This process saves substantial development iteration cost and time as well as reduces the amount of downtime a piece of machinery undergoes.

4. Performance optimization

Another disruption from the electrification of mobile machines is performance optimization through the IoT and AI. Integrated sensors can collect performance information, load cycles, or other data and analyze the set with AI to optimize performance. For example, the vehicle could optimize power utilization to increase the run-time per charge or reduce redundant movements. Data collected and processed with AI could also help inform the product development team when developing next-gen designs.

Another performance optimization function of off-road electrification is that the energy recovery described above could support high-load performance, extending the rated applicability range.

Courtesy of Bosch Rexroth

In addition, during overnight charging, electrification could enable the mobile machine to receive performance-enhancing software updates through network connectivity. This benefit also couples performance enhancement with the cybersecurity of the vehicle software, an increasingly critical consideration for any connected device.

Finally, noise from construction equipment can be disruptive in populated areas, where schools and businesses compete with the sounds from mobile machines. Enhancing electrification improves noise performance and local air quality, reducing resistance to construction in public areas.

5. Possibility of new, enhanced components

An example of electrification in mobile machines tied to a component is the high-performance electromechanical linear actuator (EMA) for agriculture applications. This device has replaced its hydraulic counterpart, offering comfort, reliability, and ease of setup while removing the risk of oil pollution contacting crops.

EMAs are rigid, compact, and can deliver both highly-accurate position control and elevated force. Shock absorbers designed for an EMA mitigate risks stemming from vibration and impact. They also offer many advantages and capabilities reviewed above, such as energy recovery, higher energy efficiency, and extended run time while seamlessly integrating with the IoT.

6. Reduced operating costs

Indeed, non-road electrification has not yet fully realized the advantages of Wright’s Law, which forecasts cost declines as a function of cumulative production. Nevertheless, detractors of electrification often hold up cost as their rationale for resisting the development of electrified components and mobile machines. To fully assess the cost picture, the disruptions mentioned above must be applied to the operating cost component:

• Optimizing energy efficiency can reduce the size of batteries and cost per kilowatt

• Increased safety reduces litigation, insurance, and warranty claims

• Predictive maintenance significantly reduces downtime and repair costs

• Performance optimization increases the off-road vehicle production output

• Enhanced components further increase production output and quality

With the regulatory pressure all but mandating at least partial movement to electric drivetrains, the mobile machine prices should join the reduced operating costs to create a cost position the market can accept en masse.

Conclusion and main takeaway

The electrification of mobile machines has moved from a trend to an industry shift. While most realize the environmental and emissions advantages of electric vehicles, mobile electrification systems provide advantages in performance, energy efficiency, safety, operations, and cost. As more manufacturers and industry participants develop electrified components, these advantages will have a compound effect on the climate and those who use and benefit from their work. FPW

IFPE ifpe.com

Adam Kimmel has nearly 20 years as a practicing engineer, R&D manager, and technical consultant, with expertise in automotive and mobile applications, industrial/manufacturing, technology, hydrogen and alternative energy, and electronics. He has degrees in Chemical and Mechanical Engineering and is the Principal and Founder of ASK Consulting Solutions, a technical content writing and strategy firm.

Example of a digital twin

CONEXPO-CON/ AGG 2023

SE T

FOR BIGGEST SHOW YET

THE BIGGEST CONSTRUCTION SHOW IN NORTH AMERICA RETURNS MARCH 14-18.

EDITED BY MARY C. GANNON, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

CONEXPO-CON/AGG, already recognized as the largest trade show in North America, is officially sold out of all available exhibit space, guaranteeing the 2023 edition of the show will be the biggest in history.

“The addition of the new West Hall and Diamond Lot at the Las Vegas Convention Center gave us, and our exhibitors, a number of new opportunities to show how we are taking the construction industry to the next level,” said CONEXPO-CON/AGG Show Director Dana Wuesthoff. “Now at 2.8 million square feet of exhibits, there’s more for construction pros to see than ever before.”

The show, now nearly 5% bigger than the record set in 2020, will feature 1,800 exhibitors and 175+ education sessions during its run from March 14-18.

Despite being the largest CONEXPO-CON/AGG ever, recent additions to the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) will make it the easiest to get around as well. Beneath the entire LVCC campus runs the Convention Center Loop, an underground transportation system designed by Elon Musk’s The Boring Company that transports convention attendees throughout the campus in under two minutes in Tesla vehicles, free of charge.

“We are excited to welcome CONEXPO-CON/AGG back to Las Vegas for another record-setting event,” said Brian Yost, chief operating officer of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), which owns and operates the LVCC. “The addition of the West Hall and the Convention Center Loop will only further enhance the ‘Only Vegas’ experience for attendees and exhibitors.”

Construction pros are ready for the show to return as well. The current pace of attendee registration is nearly double what it was at this time for the 2020 show.

“This is the event that construction professionals, especially those making company-level decisions, and those needing professional

development hours, can’t miss,” said CONEXPO-CON/AGG Show Chair and Caterpillar Senior Vice President Phil Kelliher. “Seeing the new equipment and techniques on a screen doesn’t compare to seeing it all in person. At the show, you can see the equipment, ask questions of the manufacturers themselves, and really understand what the equipment and education can do for your career and business.”

Sustainability in action

With construction technology around sustainability significantly advancing in recent years, CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2023 is already set to have the biggest focus on sustainability since the show began in 1948.

“The construction industry and CONEXPO-CON/AGG are evolving in many ways to adapt and showcase sustainable technologies, products and practices supporting a more sustainable world,” said CONEXPO-CON/AGG Show Director Dana Wuesthoff. “More than ever, show attendees will see sustainability in action, from electric and hydrogen powered construction equipment, to more recyclable materials and waste reduction opportunities, to changes we’re making to the show to better support sustainability.”

CONEXPO-CON/AGG is putting sustainability at the forefront with a variety of key programs and initiatives.

Sustainable tech on display

Across the show floor, sustainable technologies, products and practices will be on display. Here is a sampling of what will be featured Volvo Construction Equipment has already announced they will bring several electric and autonomous pieces to their stand in the Festival Lot, including their EC230 electric excavator pilot, their Zeux autonomous concept wheel loader, and their HX04 prototype hydrogen articulated hauler. Just steps away, Caterpillar (Booth F-9127) will bring four battery electric machines as well as a series of prototype batteries for off-road equipment ranging from 48-600 volts.

In addition to that, CONEXPO-CON/AGG attendees can expect to find:

• Aerial work platform specialists Skyjack (Booth F-9427) will have their new SJ120 E on hand, a zero-emissions mast lift with a 30% improvement in duty cycle.

• Kubota will highlight its V3307 Micro-Hybrid engine for installing in existing equipment, saving fuel with the attachments they use, in booth Booth S-84415.

• Small engine specialists Briggs & Stratton will bring their Vanguard (Booth D-1033) brand’s swappable lithium-ion batteries to CONEXPO-CON/AGG for the first time, available for attendees to test out.

• When it comes to equipment, gas or electric-powered, the environmental impact is more than just emissions, but lubricants. B3C Fuel Solutions (Booth S-61545) is bringing products to the show to help contractors eliminate waste by restoring emulsified/damaged oil, and make sure lubricant that does find its way to the environment is non-toxic and biodegradable.

The Arbor Day Foundation Partnership

One of the biggest sustainability efforts on the part of CONEXPO-CON/AGG directly is a newly announced partnership between the show and the Arbor Day Foundation. CONEXPO-CON/AGG and the Arbor Day Foundation are working toward planting 130,000 trees in forests of greatest need, one for every show registrant.

Additionally, CONEXPO-CON/AGG exhibitors and attendees can contribute to the Arbor Day Foundation’s funds, allowing them to further their goal of involving themselves in its mission of planting, nurturing and celebrating trees around the globe.

Each dollar contributed to the Arbor Day Foundation will result in one tree being planted in a forest in need.

Sustainability in education

CONEXPO-CON/AGG has given sustainability its own education track in its seminar offerings, now with thirteen sessions dedicated to the topic. Those sessions tackle subjects like reducing the carbon footprint of concrete, getting and managing electric construction equipment, asphalt and concrete recycling, carbon neutrality, and a “Sustainability 101” session for attendees just now starting their sustainability journey. FPW

CONEXPO-CON/AGG

conexpoconagg.com

2023 EXHIBITOR LIST

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA • MARCH 14-18

EDITOR’S NOTE: AT PRESS TIME, SEVERAL EXHIBITORS DID NOT HAVE BOOTH NUMBERS ASSIGNED BUT ARE INCLUDED FOR YOUR REFERENCE.

Designing with hydraulic cylinders on mobile machinery

Mobile machinery is rife with hydraulic cylinders, particularly for use on buckets, shovels, booms and other tools and attachments on machines like backhoes, excavators, telehandlers, cranes, balers, skid steer loaders, dump trucks and more. These machines and attachments use hydraulic cylinders to push, pull, lift and lower loads that other might otherwise be impossible to move with lesser force technologies.

Cylinders are responsible for converting hydraulic power into linear motion to do work or move a load by applying pressure to the cylinder’s piston. These somewhat simple devices usually feature a basic construction, including the aforementioned piston inside a cylindrical or rectangular

tube or body, end caps and housings, as well as necessary bolts, nuts, plugs, bearings, rod seals and wipers, and more.

The two most common designs used on mobile equipment are welded-tube and tie-rod cylinders. Welded cylinders are constructed of a heavy-duty tube that is closed off with a welded-on cap. Mounting anchors, including trunnion, side lug and side tapped, clevis, bolt, and flange types, are usually attached to the welded cap. A threaded gland on the rod end allows these cylinder types to be easily repaired. The simpler, but less durable tie-rod cylinder is designed with bolts and tie rods that hold two castings on each end of the barrel together. Also easy-repairable, this cylinder design is common on agriculture equipment and is often used on NFPA or ISO cylinders.

To determine a cylinder’s mechanical force, one must know the diameter of the piston and use the following formula to give you the linear force of a cylinder. First, convert the piston diameter into area by using πr2 then multiply area by your chosen pressure unit.

Pressure x Area = Force

Differential cylinders are the most common hydraulic cylinder design. Because they feature a rod in just one end, the force created when retracting is not equal to that created when extending. In retraction, a differential cylinder has less area for pressure to work upon because of the space taken up by the rod. Consequently, a differential cylinder will retract with more

| Courtesy of Aggressive Hydraulics

velocity than it extends, given equal flow at either service port. Once again, this effect is a result of the space taken up by the rod—in this case, filling up the reduced volume more quickly. The force reduction resulting from the rod location is inversely proportional to the flow increase from the same cause. For example, if the area of the cap side of the piston is twice that of the area from the rod side of the piston, it is referred to as a “twoto-one” cylinder. This cylinder will extend with twice the force than in retraction, and retract in half the time as extension.

Differential cylinders are normally doubleacting, i.e., they are powered in retraction as well as extension. A differential cylinder can be powered in just one direction, if required, which is called single-acting. A single-acting cylinder is manufactured in various forms, and normally when a differential cylinder is used as single acting, it will have a breather at the non-powered port to avoid trapped air. Singleacting cylinders are sometimes spring loaded, and are important if the mass of the load isn’t enough to push the fluid back through valves

alone. Springs can be added to either the cap or rod end of a cylinder, enabling springextend or spring-retract functions respectively.

Single-acting cylinders can also be rams, which are cylinders consisting of just a rod in a tube. Pressure pushes the ram up or out, but often requires energy to retract. This energy can come from the mass of the load, but sometimes is generated from springs or other devices that are part of the machine itself, rather than inside the cylinder.

Another common cylinder species is the telescopic variety. These cylinders use multiple-sections that are both bodies and rods, and can extend far longer than their retracted length would suggest. They are

relatively compact and can usually extend twice their retracted length.

Telescopic cylinders have as many as seven stages or more, providing a compact footprint with a surprisingly long stroke length. A cylinder with 120 in. of stroke only needs 50 in. of retracted space, while a traditional cylinder will always be longer than whatever its stroke length is. FPW

| Courtesy of Higginson Equipment

Designing with fi ttings and couplings on mobile machinery

Hydraulic fittings and couplings get taken for granted, especially with mobile machinery, where profit margin can overshadow design. The reality is that fittings and couplers are as crucial to the design of a machine as are the pumps, valves and actuators.

Let’s consider what makes a hydraulic fitting functional: it must fit into the port of the component it was selected for, it must withstand system pressure without fail, and it must flow well with little pressure drop. I believe the first two factors are adhered to uniformly, but consideration to flow is sometimes ignored.

Calculating pressure drop through fittings — all of them — is an essential element of fluid power machine design. Although the math may be complicated, online calculators allow you to enter the fitting size, type and quantity to see actual pressure drop. Knowing the pressure drop is critical to design because it allows you to find the sweet spot between price and performance.

If the fittings are undersized, you must subtract the energy required to overcome flow from the energy available for

work. Hundreds of psi of pressure drop could reduce machine performance due to undersized fittings or excessive connections and elbows. Should fittings be oversized to prevent flow restriction, you may be increasing cost and bulk. As fittings increase in size, their price may rise exponentially, so forethought results in the correct size, price and flow rate for your design.

Myriad options are available for thread and sealing types. Let’s start by dismissing NPT thread altogether. NPT fittings require so much extra work and effort to install, and when you factor their inferior performance, there is no excuse to use them.

Fittings, whenever possible, should only use soft-sealing technology, like O-ring boss (in the form of SAE, BSPP or metric straight thread) fittings. O-rings provide a positive seal with little chance for leakage and are easy to ensure a tight, leak-free connection. For hose connections, JIC fittings have suited the world well up to this point but are now supplanted by O-ring face fittings, which provide a superior connection. Of course, the price also plays a part in fitting design, and O-ring fittings do cost more, so one must balance price with performance once again when designing with fittings and couplings. FPW

| Courtesy of Adaptall

Designing with hydraulic hose on mobile machinery

Because it is impossible to physically stack every component of a hydraulic system like a Jenga tower, plumbing is required to direct hydraulic energy through the circuit. Pipe, tube and hose are required to channel fluid through the system, and the requirements of the system must be reflected in the choice of conduit.

Hydraulic hose is the most commonly used conduit, especially on mobile machinery, and is mandatory should any bending or movement in the mechanism require it. Hoses feature a multi-layer construction, most often with synthetic rubber such as Nitrile and strengthened with braided steel, although synthetic and textile braids are used as well.

The pressure rating of hydraulic hose is a result of the number of braid layers and the nature of their construction.

The SAE has created standards for hose construction, which dictate specifications for pressure, temperature and type of fluid being used. As you would imagine, the more layers of braided material used, the higher the pressure the hose can withstand. Consequently, hose with four or six layers of steel braiding is quite stiff, so consideration should be taken for bend-

radius requirements when choosing hose. Consideration should be taken for diameter when selecting hose to ensure pressure drop remains in check; pressure drop is so often overlooked in a hydraulic system, and the energy wasted can be extensive. However, just as the layering of braids can affect the rigidity of hose, so too can its diameter. Hose manufacturers publish the bend-radius of their hose, and most manufacturers carry a short bendradius hose in their product line, although it is often more expensive.

Specialty hose is available for demanding applications, such as for use in high heat or with exotic fluids. Steel braiding in a hose transmitting high water-based fluid is bad news, as internal corrosion will occur and will go unnoticed. Hose can also be had with non-conductive construction, to ensure the hose does not transmit electricity when installed on a machine working on electrical utility jobs.

The most common hydraulic hose is the 100R1 and 100R2 construction types, with one or two layers of braided steel respectively. These hose types are not suitable for every application, so consult with industry professionals when choosing your hydraulic hose. FPW

Designing with HPUs for mobile machinery

Mobile machinery design has its challenges, but it has many benefits as well. A hydraulic pump need not mount near a hydraulic reservoir, and in fact, could be many feet away. A pump may be near the transmission of the vehicle or at a PTO shaft near the truck’s front bumper. As well, valves and components often find themselves mounted where it most makes sense for performance and function. These freedoms are rarely enjoyed with industrial hydraulics, where the power unit and major components are centralized.

Hydraulic power units are used in mobile machinery, of course, and are not limited to industrial environments. A mobile hydraulic power unit is very similar to its industrial kin, but with various unique design considerations. Often mounted to the bed of a heavy vehicle (or trailer), it’s obvious a mobile hydraulic power unit is mounted out in free air and exposed to the worst of the outdoor environment. A power unit design must encompass corrosion resistance first and foremost, using a combination of stainless steel, composites and rust-resistant paints.

A corollary to rust resistance is the waterresistant nature of the electrical components, such as valve coils, sensors and engine control components. Electrical connections and interfaces must resist water-related damage, so, typically, advanced connection technology is used, such as Deutsch or MetriPak connections. These connection styles are available in a wide range of sizes and pin-counts while allowing for up to IP69K water protection, which can resist high-pressure hot water spray.

Just as the outdoors can be wet, the subjection to temperature extremes requires thought as well. A diesel engine has its

own heat dissipation requirements, so care must be taken to prevent exhaust heat from contaminating hydraulic oil (yes, heat is a form of contamination). Mounting a hydraulic reservoir near the diesel exhaust is a recipe for disaster, especially when the summer heat is already straining the hydraulic power unit.

Very few mobile machines make do with no hydraulic cooler. Hydraulic liquid-toair coolers for mobile hydraulic power units are some of the largest available. Having to deal with ambient heat on top of everyday inefficiencies and pressure drop necessitates high-power cooling. 12-volt fans are sometimes unable to keep up, so occasionally hydraulic motors are used to power fans, yielding tornado-like air power to help dissipate heat.

Mobile equipment must be powerful, reliable and economical, but often only two of those criteria are considered. Although any hydraulic power unit exists to transmit hydraulic energy to perform work, the unique mobile operating environment makes designing for mobile hydraulic power units a challenge. FPW

| Courtesy of Power Hydraulik

Designing with fi lters on mobile machinery

A reliable and e cient hydraulic system starts with the fluid. Keeping hydraulic oil conditioned and free of contaminants, air, water and heat is critical to ensuring that all system components run as they are meant to. To ensure this dependability, proper fluid filtration is required and should be taken with great care.

Contamination often enters a machine during startup, when particles from machine operations — be they metal shavings or sawdust or plastic bits — enter hoses, actuators, reservoirs and manifold ports. These particles can also flood a system during maintenance, if proper preventions aren’t taken, or during a complete machine failure.

To prevent them from entering a system, use one of three main types of filters. The first, the suction filter, is mounted in the reservoir and attached to the suction line to protect downstream components, such as the pump. They are meant to catch coarse, large particles, so are not effective in trapping the major culprits of wear — fine particles. These mesh steel filters are often not included in a system’s filtration design, as they can cause clogging and pump cavitation.

Next up is the pressure filter, which is installed in the pressure line, downstream of pumps and system circuits when fine filtration is required. This traps particles in fluid as it flows from the pump, so protects components downstream of the pump. You must select a pressure filter that matches the system pressure you’ll be operating in, but they are generally available in wide ranges up to and higher than 10,000 psi.

The most common type of filter is the return line filter, which traps very fine particles before the fluid reenters the reservoir. Spin-on filter and in-tank drop-in assemblies are the most popular. Spin-on filters are used heavily on mobile equipment. They are rated for most fluid types and a range of pressures and temperatures. They are available in glass, cellulose fibers and paper media. Water-absorbing medias also remove freestanding water from oil.

Growing in use in the mobile market are in-tank return filters. They use stronger filter media, such as synthetic and natural fibers and stainless steel wire mesh. Constructed of steel, aluminum or plastic, they are suitable for heavy-duty applications. And because they are located in the filter stream, they can remove most fine

particles throughout the rest of the system, ensuring clean fluid enters the reservoir.

When selecting a filter you need to know what size particles it is rated to remove in one pass through. You must also know its efficiency or Beta ratio (the ratio of particles upstream of the filter to downstream of the filter during standardized testing). For example, we know how efficient a filter was at removing 10-micron particles in a single pass, such as 99%. In this case, “10 micron at Beta 200,” means the filter is 99.5% efficient at removing 10-micron particles in one pass. The lower the micron rating and higher the efficiency rating the better.

Other considerations include pressure drop, flow rate and size, and obviously, price. If sized improperly, filters can break, releasing all the collected contaminants back into the system. FPW

| Courtesy of MP Filtri

Designing with hydraulic pumps on mobile machinery

Hydraulic systems are made of many components, but you couldn’t get very far without a pump to achieve the work. The hydraulic pump is the heart of any mobile machine, converting mechanical energy to hydraulic energy, and then pumping it out into the system. Pump design and construction can vary vastly.

The choice in pump construction can often be decided by the operating pressure, as a piston pump will be more reliable at 5,000 psi than, say, a vane pump. Once pump design is finalized, you will need to choose the physical displacement of the pump, which is the fluid volume it can pump in a single rotation, normally expressed in cm3/ min or in.3/min.

Some pump designs are better suited for certain applications more than others. The three main types of pump are gear, vane and piston. The gear pump family has two siblings; the outside and inside type. The outside gear pump is most used, because it is effective, reliable and extremely inexpensive. It uses meshed spur gears, with one driven and one idle, and is as basic as a pump can get. Gear pumps are used in every conceivable application, especially where price is a concern.

Inside gear pumps use an inside gear arrangement, with more complicated construction and tighter tolerances. They are highly efficient and quiet, but can cost ten times as much as outside gear types. Regardless, they are the number one choice for some fixed-pump applications, such as servomotor driven closed-loop pump systems.

Vane pumps, once one of the most popular choices, use a rotating group with rectangular vanes pushed out via springs,

centrifugal force or hydraulic pressure. The offset between the vanes and cam ring allows the pump to create flow, and in variable displacement vane pumps, the offset distance is what dictates volume. Vane pumps are quiet, reliable and easy to repair. They are most popular in industrial applications, especially those running lower pressure.

Piston pumps are used in most highpressure applications. The lion’s share of the market is the variable-displacement, axial-piston pump, with the remaining piston designs claiming a small slice of the pie. This pump is highly efficient, reliable and relatively easy to rebuild although not very inexpensive. They are available with countless control options, such as pressurecompensated, load sensing, remote pressure control, proportional control, etc. The vast majority of closed loop pumps are axial piston type because it offers versatility and robust construction. FPW

Designing with hydraulic valves on mobile machinery

valve manufacturers offer many unique products, and allow high levels of creativity with limitless available valve combinations.

Pressure valves are designed to in some way limit pressure. Most designs are based on a poppet being pushed against a seat with an adjustable spring. A relief valve controls maximum pressure for the entire system or a sub-circuit of it, the lowest spring pressure being the first to open up. Other pressure valves are based on the relief valve’s simple spring-loaded ball or poppet. Sequence valves, counterbalance valves, and brake valves offer added utility or functionality, such as reverse flow checks or pilot operation built in. Pressure-reducing valves differ from other pressure valves because they limit pressure downstream, rather than upstream. They are used where sub-circuit pressures need to be lower, without sacrificing performance in the rest of the system.

Hydraulic valves govern direction, pressure and flow of hydraulic fluid, enabling smooth, safe and controlled use of actuators. They can be as simple as a relief valve to protect your pump and actuator. Or, their use can be complex, like when using a dozen valves in manifolds, such as a pilot operated valve with dual counterbalance valves, dual flow controls, dual post-compensation and load sensing checks.

The directional control valve’s function is to control the path of fluid flow. The most basic design is the check valve; it allows flow into one work port, and blocks flow from coming back through the opposite work port. They can also be as advanced as pilot operated

proportional valves with internal pilots, drains and load sense check valves.

Directional valves are often described as the number of “ways” fluid can travel through itself, and also by the positions available to be shifted into. The ways are equal to the number of work ports, so a 4-way valve will have pressure, tank, and A and B work ports. Positions are equal to the number of positional envelopes. For example, one would describe a double acting single-monoblock valve as “4way, 3-position,” or simply a “4/3 valve.”

Monoblock or sectional directional valves are common to the mobile-hydraulic industry, as well as subplate mounted industrial type valves such as ISO style D03s, D05s, et al. Also common to mobile and industrial markets are cartridge valves installed into manifold blocks. Cartridge

Flow control valves are designed to control or limit flow in one way or another. Often simply a needle valve — which is just a variable restriction — it is adjusted by a screw or knob to limit energy potential to create flow. When installed with reverse flow check valves, we change the name to flow control. Flow control valves can have multiple ports, such as with a priority flow control. They can provide controlled, fixed flow to one part of the circuit, sometimes at the sacrifice of another part, and as long as input flow is high enough for its priority demand.

Flow controls are ideally pressure compensated, which allows them to maintain set flow regardless of load-induced pressure variances. Pressure compensators are a type of flow control valve available as a single item, often added to other valves in a circuit to provide the same flow setting load-independent accuracy, such as with a proportional valve, for example. FPW

| Courtesy of Hydraforce

Designing with manifolds on mobile m achinery

When designing manifolds for mobile machinery, one can quickly become overwhelmed with the volume of cartridge valve options available for installation into machined aluminum or steel blocks. Valve manufacturers offer hundreds of directional, pressure and flow control valves, often only separated by slight differences, such as an orifice.

Partnering with a local fluid power company is your best bet to take advantage of a cartridge valve manufacturer’s components library. These companies are trained and have appropriate resources to help them bring your manifold to life. Many manufacturers have proprietary design software that includes their entire valve library in a light-CAD format. The highly-trained distributor drags symbols into the digital workspace, arranges them to match the desired function and then uses that design as the basis for the physical manifold.

Designing manifold circuits for mobile machinery is quite rewarding. The level of creativity and ingenuity possible when creating circuits is highly satisfying. Unique valves such as a loadsensing logic element bring distinct performance options ordinarily tricky in the industrial realm. Imagine monitoring downstream pressure via a load-sense network to feed pressure to an automatically regulating logic element. This type of unique valve enables a fixed flow system to operate as if it was powered by a load-sensing pump, providing on-demand flow and pressure matching what the actuators require.

Aside from the infinite combination of valves to produce any imaginable hydraulic function, manifolds provide creative space-saving solutions. Compared to stacked valve systems, which are bulky and limiting, you design manifolds with only the material required for the job. Reduced plumbing is especially important. Rather than the pressure and

tank end ports and single plane work ports of a bar manifold, you can mount the valves and ports of a custom manifold nearly anywhere you wish, as best suits the design.

Although single manifold prices can be rather expensive – much engineering time goes into these after all – a custom hydraulic manifold when produced in the hundreds is the least expensive method of circuit creation. Cartridge valves are inexpensive by their nature, and when design and setup costs spread across hundreds of blocks, these manifolds are shockingly cheap. FPW

| Courtesy of Daman Products

Designing with hydraulic motors on mobile machinery

Hydraulic motors are used where output of mechanical rotational energy is required, such as augers, wheel drives, fans, mixers, and grinders. Their execution is varied, coming in orbital, vane, gear and the major piston types — bent-axis, radial and axial.

Motors convert hydraulic energy into mechanical rotational energy. Their torque output is a factor of both motor displacement (theoretical volume of fluid the motor requires to rotate one revolution) and operating pressure. Additionally, a hydraulic motor’s horsepower output is a factor of torque and speed (generally described in rpm).

Each motor type excels in a few applications, but could function as a compromise in others. Orbital motors go by such monikers as low-speed/hightorque (LSHT), gerotor, geroller, and disc valve, to name a few. The last three are different configurations of the same type of motor — however, their general function is the same, by using an off-set shaft inside-gear arrangement, with either a spool or disc valve.

Orbital motors are the least efficient type, but excel at low-speed, high-torque applications, and are also economical. They are found on the majority of farmduty applications, such as conveyors or spreaders, and every application where price is the major consideration.

Gear motors are simple, using the same drive- and idle-gear layout as gear pumps, and although they are not any more efficient than orbital motors for the most part, they are inexpensive and work well at higher speeds. They are most often used when such a combination is required,

such as cooling fan drives or pump drives.

Vane motors are the least common of the major types, but are respectable in their efficiency and speed output. They can also be had in large displacements, making them a good choice for high torque applications. They use a rotor with fixed vanes, just as vane pumps, although some manufacturers use a more complicated design with vanes on the housing as well. They can be seen in winches or drill rigs.

Piston motors are hard to beat in their output and efficiency. The bentaxis piston motor is the champion of highspeed operation, and can do so with huge amounts of pressure and torque. Their bent-axis design also makes them reliable, able to handle 5,000-6,000 psi long term. They’re used in any application where ultra-high speed and torque are required, such as grinders or vacuum pump drives. They’re not cheap, but they are unmatched in their power density.

The radial piston motor is the torque king of the hydraulic motor empire, not only available in gigantic displacements, but also extremely efficient in creating that torque. They’re not as fast as bentaxis motors, but are the top choice for wheel drives or other direct-drive high torque applications. It should be noted that while no piston-type motor can be called inexpensive, they at least provide unparalleled performance at any price. FPW

| Courtesy of Linde Hydraulics

Designing with pressure transducers on mobile machinery

Pressure measurement used to be done primarily with Bourdon tube pressure gauges, and if you wanted to check the pressure at any location in a fluid power circuit, you had to go right to the source to install a pressure gauge at the location you wished to measure. The invention of test points and micro-bore hoses allowed for some distance between point of measure and point of reading, but reliable and accurate readings were still limited.

The proliferation of electronics into fluid power has changed the way we can measure pressure, and has enabled versatility not enjoyed previously. Pressure transducers are solid state, meaning there are no mechanical moving parts, instead using something called a strain gauge which changes in resistance when warped out of shape by pressure. Their solid-state nature means they are very reliable, often lasting millions of cycles.

Pressure transducers require a power source to give their output signal, usually a 24-V input. Their outputs are typically one of the standard control signals, such as 0-10 V or 4-20 mA, et al. This signal can be fed into a PLC for feedback of closed-loop control, such as servo-pump pressure control, or the transducer signal can simply plug into a digital display.

Transducers are typically male-threaded and plumbed into any location where you wish to measure pressure. When used in conjunction with a PLC, the basic plug-in type with a M12 or DIN connector is all that is needed. The transducer must be chosen for the appropriate pressure range it will measure, especially if you wish it to be accurate. For example, if you are measuring around 100 psi with a 0-10 V transducer, using a 1,000-psi transducer will only ever read 1 V, leaving the rest of the pressure range unused.

Pressure transducers are also available with on-board electronics, including displays and switches. One device, for example, can display the pressure, provide a handful of switch’s outputs with configurable switch-back points, and also provide its analog output for a PLC to use as well. With the cost of electronics at an all-time low, they’re not as expensive as you would think, either. FPW

| Courtesy of NOSHOK

Designing with seals used on mobile machinery

Seals are the unsung heroes of the fluid power industry; they work hard in nearly every conceivable pump, valve or actuator, providing function, efficiency and reliability far exceeding their cost or complexity. For such a simple invention, the seal exists in countless configurations, often with nearly imperceptible differences, but different all the same. They seal shafts, spools, plates, pistons, rods and nearly every location with moving parts or between two locations of opposed pressure or fluid.

The two major classifications of seals are dynamic and static. Dynamic seals must keep pressure contained as one surface slides across or rotates around another surface, such as rod seals, shaft seals and

piston seals. They are most often cupshaped to take advantage of pressure to increase sealing. Static seals, such as O-rings or gaskets, are used to separate two areas of a component, such as a reservoir lid or spool valve end covers.

Seal construction has come a long way, the majority of which is now of synthetic construction — Viton, Buna N or Teflon, to name a few. Seal composition needs to reflect the fluid used. Buna is fine for mineral oil, but Viton is required for exotic fluids such as glycols or esters. The shape of the seal is usually dictated by the location of its use. A piston seal typically has the cross-section appearance of a “U.” As you can imagine, pressure inside the middle of the U pushes the edges outward, with extra pressure creating extra sealing.

The traditional O-ring is still very common. Although less common these

days in dynamic or high-pressure applications, it can still be found in countless applications, such as pump rearcovers or ISO valve mounting. Most high pressure O-ring applications used for static pressure holding require a back-up washer, typically made of Teflon, which prevents the O-ring from being extruded out the lower pressure side. Nearly every cartridge valve, for example, uses the O-ring/backup washer configuration.

Seals are typically measured by their cross section width, their ID and their OD. Metric and SAE sizes are both common, and although component manufacturers offer rebuild kits with a complete set of seals (for cylinders, pumps, etc.), any competent technician can quickly measure up seals to be purchased through thirdparty sources. FPW

| Courtesy of Apple Rubber