I was wondering. Now that the i-pod has done so much for Apple's fortunes and now that they have taken the next step and introduced the i-phone, is there such an iconic breakthrough in the future for fluid power technology?

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is there such an iconic breakthrough in the future for fluid power technology?

Not as long as Industry keeps depending on the Fluid Power Manufacturers and Fluid Power Distributors to do their Circuit Design, Training, Trouble Shooting and Maintenance.

Withiout trained Fluid Power Engineers and Mechanics in the end users facility Fluid Power will keep muddling along and thinking there is no more that can be accomplished and the Status-Quo will continue ad infinitum.

Fluid Power is the only system that does not have dedicated persons who design and maintain the systems and who are capable of recommending ways to improve the present offerings. Imagine the Electrical field operating in the same manner, as an example.

I wanted to put a picture of the person rolling on the ground, holding his stomach and laughing uncontrollably, below the quote but couldn't find one. Perhaps a picture of the person who is crying uncotrollably would work as well.

How sad it is that a system as old as Fluid Power and that is used so extensively is so little understood and what little understanding there is does not come from education sources but from the manufacturers and distributors of the equipment.

I don't think anyone is listening though!!!!

What about breakthrough advances in fluids that make hydraulic systems easier to use?

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Originally posted by Mike Ference:
What about breakthrough advances in fluids that make hydraulic systems easier to use?

Specifications that really mean something. I would like to see transfer functions for valves. As it is there is no means of modeling a system. Designers can use their experience but the ability to design and model and simulate a system does not really exist.

Companies like Caterpillar will analyze a component until they know much more about it than the OEM that made it. That is fine for Caterpillar but average Joe just wants to drag a component off is parts list into his hydraulic circuit simulator and run the simulation.

How can fluid power component suppliers get ahead of the curve? By that I mean how can they devote more time to innovating such new products when they are required to devote so much attention to providing very competitive versions of existing components?

Let's brainstorm and think outside the box. Innovators, please help me here.

Mike;

I know this is beginning to sound like an old record that is stuck in one groove and repeating, repeating, repeating, repeating, repeating, repeating, repeating, repeating, repeating, repeating, repeating, repeating, adinfunitum BUT, I still see an analogy with the ELECTRICAL FIELD.

The ELECTRICAL FIELD has TRAINED, DEDICATED PESONS in most facilities whose only JOB is to DESIGN and MAINTAIN all ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT.

These persons understand the system so well that they can offer reliable feedback to the manufacturers on Electrical Equipment that prods the manufacturers to develop new products.

I DO NOT SEE THAT FEEDBACK FROM THE END USERS OF FLUID POWER EQUIPMENT AND I BELIEVE IT IS BECAUSE THEY DON'T KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT FLUID POWER TO GIVE THE TYPE OF FEEDBACK THAT WILL MOVE MANUFACTURERS TO DESIGN AND BUILD NEW AND BETTER PRODUCTS.

If it were not for the Electrical field getting into Fluid Power design, VFD Motors for one, there would have been very little change in my 40 years in Fluid Power.

I'm not sure what will get Fluid Power off Dead Center but I have about given up hope that I will live long enough to see it happen.

I know this is not "Thinking Outside the Box," just the same Broken Record I have been playing for many years. After all this time I have determined my thoughts must be off the wall and really of no use and a waste of mine and everyone else' time so it's about time I get off my Soap Box and leave it alone.

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Originally posted by Bud T:
The ELECTRICAL FIELD has TRAINED, DEDICATED PESONS in most facilities whose only JOB is to DESIGN and MAINTAIN all ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT.

So what? If you had those same type of people in the hydraulic field one may be able to design better hydraulic systems but that would not be break through technology. I think Mike is getting break through technology like quickly shifting valves or hydraulic pumps that can respond faster to changing loads.

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These persons understand the system so well that they can offer reliable feedback to the manufacturers on Electrical Equipment that prods the manufacturers to develop new products.

Didn't I just say in another thread that the last two places I have been to that the customer hired the OEMs to set up their VFD equipment? I think you have an overly optimistic view of the servo/VFD knowledge.

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I DO NOT SEE THAT FEEDBACK FROM THE END USERS OF FLUID POWER EQUIPMENT AND I BELIEVE IT IS BECAUSE THEY DON'T KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT FLUID POWER TO GIVE THE TYPE OF FEEDBACK THAT WILL MOVE MANUFACTURERS TO DESIGN AND BUILD NEW AND BETTER PRODUCTS.

The end customers and distributors know nothing about rotating flux vectors and modeling sevro motors either. Some how you think these guys can walk on water.

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If it were not for the Electrical field getting into Fluid Power design, VFD Motors for one, there would have been very little change in my 40 years in Fluid Power.

That is sad. You forgot feed back devices and motion controllers.

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I'm not sure what will get Fluid Power off Dead Center but I have about given up hope that I will live long enough to see it happen.

What about that student that posted here last month that wanted to know about how to do multiple variable control? These projects will eventually pay off.

Thanks Peter for being interested enough to respond. Maybe the other three will also have some feedback.

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Thanks Peter for being interested enough to respond. Maybe the other three will also have some feedback.

Bud,

I am very interested in knowing what the next steps will be in fluid power innovation. My limitation is that I do not have the level of technical expertise that you and Peter have. That is why I am turning to people like you for concrete but still forward thinking ideas. Keep in mind that you may need to frame these ideas in language that non-technical people can more easily grasp for starters.

In today's world with the internet and Forums like this and many others, the exchange of ideas is more important than ever.

For that reason, I would like to have some ideas posted that are perhaps even in the "oh you could never do that" stage. Isn't that how great innovations start?

At one time, rheological fluids were thought to be break through technology but I don't know what ever became of them.

Are there developements in fluids that take cause them to handle heat better or just not EVER leak? What about lighter weight, more compact, quieter systems. The ERC for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power will certainly produce some great new developments. Maybe an idea here would be food for thought for them. I hope to get some of the individuals involved in the ERC to become active on this Forum.

I believe that we are always on the verge of a breakthrough. It would be great to find out what some of them are.

Mike;

I beleive I know what te problem is on "Thinking Outside the Box" when it applies to Fluid Power.

You have to be "In the Box" to think outside of it and therein lies the problem. The only ones "In the Box" are Fluid power Manufacturers and Distributors of Fluid Power equipment and they are so busy with everyday stuff that they seldom have any reason to look for new innovations.

Mike wrote:

I believe that we are always on the verge of a breakthrough. It would be great to find out what some of them are.

How about ELECTRIC CYLINDERS? They look like a great addition to the Fluid Power field. Oh, Darn, they were developed by electrical types. I wonder why????

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Bud T,

What about emerging markets? First of all, what are they? Secondly, how can fluid power take advantage of emerging markets?

It is out there.

What about alternative fuels as an emerging market for fluid power? Is the medical market growing in fluid power usage?