In my life time in the industry (Over 40 years), while I have seen immense growth in fluid power applications and business in variety of industry, I have not seen any adequate growth in Fluid power education. The Fluid power certification is merely a vocational training sort and does not quite fulfill the industry's need for actual qualified hydraulic application and service engineers.

The fluid power education need to start at the grass root level of Middle/high schools. NFPA and FPDA must work hand in hand with all the Engineering schools in the country or around the globe to insert the hydraulic carriculam in the Mechanical engineering focullty. NFPA/FPDA must even work out the actual carriculam that needed to be put in the Mechanical Engineering degree course, titled as "Hydraulic/Fluid Power Engineers (B.Tech (Hyd)/MS (Hydraulics). To-day's degreed Mechanical Engineers even from the best of best engineering schools around the globe, has no clue about hydraulic hardware, applications or even the difference between a positive and Non positive displacement Pumps.

Therefore, we must start working with the Deans of all engineering schools to create a separate branch of Engineering degreed as " Fluid Poer Engineers" or Oil Hydraulic Engineers".

NFPA/FPDA, can make this happen and it is high time that we work on this. I have personally spoken with several Professors and Dean of different Engineering schools and emphasized this necessiety. It's now a matter of fluid power industry working hand in hand with schools/Colleges to produce qualified Engineers with adequate fluid power education.

To-days most certified Fluid power "Specialist" are not quite "Specialist" but merely have passed a set Test, and that is to my mind is no education.

Let's put our resources together and work on this area. It's possible and let's make this happen for the sake of advancement of Fluid Power Technology further for future generations.

All good things has to start somewhere at some point, keeping future needs in mind.

P.K. Guha

P.K. Guha;

A person after my own passion.

In my thinking the reason Academia is not training Fluid Power Persons or have a course to produce Fluid Power Enineers or Fluid Power Mechanics is because INDUSTRY is not asking for people with that type training. No one in their right mind makes a product that no one is buying or even inquiring about.

Industry has muddled along for years thinking they can get by allowing their Fluid Power Distributor to design circuits, trouble shoot equipment, and train their personnel. All the while Fluid Power has struggled to get ew innovations because the end user has little idea what is missing and is nt asking for better equipment.

Sadly systems run hot, spew oil or air from every connection, require component replacing on a regular schedule and stay down for a long time when an unusual problem occurs.

Thanks for being about the tenth person who recognizes Fluid Power has a problem and has come forth. It's nice to get an idea that I am not way off nmy thinking.

Hi All,

I am new to this forum and would like to share something with you all whoever is unaware of this. That, there are quite a few universities which do provide a degree in fluid power/hydraulics. They are- University of Bath UK, Univ of Tampere Finland, Milwaukee school of engg USA, Univ of Saskatchewan Canada, et al.

I am currently doing my masters in hydraulics from Univ of Bath and the course is just fantastic. I got really what I was looking for. It is a one year MSc degree which is very well recognised by the fluid power industry.

Hope this information was helpful. If anyone wants details about the course or anything then you may find it on university website , OR DIRECTLY GO TO THIS LINKS-http://www.bath.ac.uk/mech-eng/ptmc/industry.htm#CPD

http://www.bath.ac.uk/mech-eng/admissions/msc-brochure/fluid-power.htm

http://www.bath.ac.uk/mech-eng/admissions/msc-brochure/ptmc.htm

or You can write to me at pj225@bath.ac.uk

Cheers

P Jain

Prakhar;

Good to hear there are at least 4 higher education schools that are offering Fluid Power degrees.

Do you have any information on the number of graduates each Year?

Any information on where these graduates find work in Fluid Power? What work do they perform? What, in general, is there salaries?

I would be interested in any information.

On another note, How would the Mechanical or Electrical field fare with a total of one or two schools in each country teaching them their trade? Do you think the Mechanicalan Electrical field would do any better than the Fluid Power Field?

What if there was no recognized title for a Mechanical Engineer or an Electrical Engineer?

What if the Mechanical and Electrical Design was mainly handled by the manufacturers of Mechanical and Electrical equipment? Would those disciplines be as far ahead as they are?

Stll wondering why a discipline like Fluid Power is so little recognized in this modern world.

Hi Bud,

I totally agree with you that this field has been overlooked for quite some time now....
It really needs professional level education in abundance....
The other sad part is even in the universities which are teaching fluid power, are not getting enough students. Like in my own course, I am the only student !
It's really a shame for this field.... and due to this low level of participation, my university cancelled the lectures for 2 modules which were very imp for my course. So it was me who suffered for inadequate number of students on the course.
Well, I hope things get better in future....
As far as jobs are concerned, so previous year students went into industries related to fluid power and motion controls....

IIT Bombay
5 Days Workshop on
INDUSTRIAL HYDRAULICS & SERVOHYDRAULICS

Date : May 3 - 7, 2007
Time : 9.00 AM to 5.00 PM

INTRODUCTION

Industrial Oil Hydraulics is widely used in all strategic Industries – for
controls in Aerospace Industry, in Earthmoving Equipments, Heavy Press, Huge
Cranes and Material Handling Systems, Injection Moulding and Diecasting
Machines, Automobiles, Machine Tools, Medical Equipment etc.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------

SCOPE

The 5 day workshop starts from basics and then goes from simple open loop
circuits to Pneumohydraulics, electrohydraulics and finally to
servohydraulics.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------

WHO CAN BE BENEFITED ?

» Participants should have minimum diploma in Mechanical Engg. Preferably
degree.
» Up to module 11 general Fluid Mechanics understanding is necessary.
Further, rest of the modules will need familiarity with differential
equations, and their use.
» All the presentations will be in English.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

There will be 20 modules (4 of 1½ hours each on each day). It will include
lectures, videos, case studies, lab demo, etc.

03-05-2007
--------------

09.00 AM Registration
09.15 AM Inauguration

SESSION 1
Introduction to Oil Hydraulics: Comparison with Pneumatics, Electrical and
Mechanical Systems. Elements of a Hydraulic System. Symbols

SESSION 2
The Power Pack – Elements of Power Pack – Positive Displacement Pump – Fixed
Delivery/Variable Delivery

SESSION 3
Pump Characteristics. Relief Valve & Safety Valve. Strainer & Filter. Tank –
Baffles – Heat Exchanger. Hydraulic Oil – Characteristics – Selection

SESSION 4
The Actuator – Rotary, Oscillatory & Linear. Types of Actuators – Force
Speed / Torque Speed Diagram. Selection of Actuator


04-05-2007
--------------

SESSION 5
Flow Control Valves. Types. Pressure & Temperature Compensation. Speed
Control of Actuator. Meter–In,Meter–Out & Bypass Circuits

SESSION 6
Direction Control Valves – Types. Check Valves. Two Position & Three
Position Valves. Pilot Operation. Electric-operation

SESSION 7
Pressure Control Valves – Pressure Reducing Valves. Sequence Valves.
Unloading Valves

SESSION 8
Auxiliary Devices – Accumulators & Intensifiers. Operating Principle,
Characteristics & Application


05-05-2007
--------------

SESSION 9
Plumbing:- Pipes & Tubes- types-selection, joints

SESSION 10
Development of Simple Hydraulic Circuits

SESSION 11
Illustrative Examples

SESSION 12
Proportional Valves – Types, Characteristics, Applications. Illustrative
Examples


06-05-2007
--------------

SESSION 13
Servohydraulic Valves – Principle of Operation. Valve Characteristics

SESSION 14
Servohydraulic Systems. Some Typical Examples

SESSION 15
System Development. System Synthesis. Developing the Transfer Function.

SESSION 16
Check For Stability. Analysis for Step, Ramp, Pulse Inputs. Frequency
Response Analysis


07-05-2007
--------------

SESSION 17
Laboratory work

SESSION 18
Laboratory work

SESSION 19
Mechatronic - Introduction. Basic Concepts, Sensors, Data Storage &
Processing - Controllers

SESSION 20
Mechatronics in Hydraulic Systems-Making Systems Adaptive, Intelligent &
Self-Monitoring
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------

FACULTY

Dr. N. Ramakrishnan, IIT Bombay, Mechanical Engineering Department has more
than thirty five years of experience in teaching, research, consultancy,
etc. with close interaction of many industries like L&T Mumbai, Godrej &
Boyce Mumbai, Bajaj Auto Pune, Cadilla Labs Ahmedabad, IFB Bangalore, Ashok
Leyland Chennai, Hero Motors Gurgaon etc.

Experts from industries with long experience will be giving illustrative
examples & joining in the Brainstorming sessions.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------

VENUE

IIT Bombay Guest House, Conference Hall
Ground Floor, IIT Bombay, Powai, Mumbai - 400 076

TIME : 9.00 AM TO 5.00 PM
DATE : May 03 - 07, 2007

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------

REGISTRATION FEE : RS.15000/- PER DELEGATE
( 10 % discount for organizations sponsoring 3 or more delegates )
The fee includes Course Material, Tea and working lunch during the course
days.
Kindly note that no TDS is to be deducted from the course fee payments as
IIT Bombay is exempt from the same.
(Relevant documents can be provided on demand)


Our Organisation will be represented by :

Name Designation

1. _________________________________________
2. _________________________________________
3. _________________________________________
4. _________________________________________
5. _________________________________________

Contact Person ______________________________
Designation ________________________________
Organisation _______________________________
Address __________________________________
Tel No. ____________________________________
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MODE OF PAYMENT
Cash ____________________________________
Demand Draft _____________________________
Amount ___________________________________
DD No. ____________________________________

The Payment is strictly to be made via Demand Draft in favour of
"THE REGISTRAR IIT BOMBAY (CEP ACCOUNT)" Payable at MUMBAI.

The Payment Should Reach Us Before 25.4.2007
(Fees are non refundable, however, change in nomination, in case of
delegates, is acceptable)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------

Please forward the above details to:

VAISHALI B. PALKAR
CNC TIMES
102/103, Veena Beena Shopping Centre, Gurunanak Road,
Opp. Bandra Railway Station, Bandra (W), Mumbai - 400 050.
Tel: 91 - 022 - 66991171 / Telefax : 91 - 022 - 66991191
Mobile : 09820328915 / 09892860587
E-mail : seminar@cnctimes.com
INTERNET : http://www.cnctimes.com

Please click here for online Registration:
http://www.cnctimes.com/events/Servo030507.htm
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Prakhar;

How did the seminar do? work out? go? whtever is your way of asking about results such as attendance and level of student understanding.

In the states these type seminars go quite well but the students are usually Mechanics and Mechanicl Engineers who seldom get the opportunity to work on Fluid Power systems in any way.

I'm in UK from last one year, but three engineers from my company in India attended the seminar and only one had some hydraulics sales knowledge.... but according to them it was really enlighting and comprehensive seminar....
They really gained a lot from it... however it is really rewarding only when the attendees practice the learning after the seminar...

Here's information about a group I had not heard about ...

JETS: A new engineering message for a new generation

Think of it as "extreme makeover, high school outreach edition" for an organization that began nearly 60 years ago. JETS, the Junior Engineering and Technology Society, has long prided itself as the nation’s foremost program for motivating high school students to consider an exciting career in engineering. Now, to keep on top of its game, JETS is revamping its look and engineering message to foster a new level of excitement for the profession.

Determined to help students see – in the organization’s words – that "Engineers Make a World of Difference," JETS administrators say they have sharpened their focus and reshaped their message to woo students who in the past may have missed out on all that JETS had to offer. A combination of new initiatives and a retooling of outreach efforts that have proven successful in the past make JETS 2007-08 programs its most expansive and inclusive ever.

For Leann Yoder, JETS executive director, it’s about time. "We were a 57-year-old organization that looked and acted our age," says Yoder, who has overseen the reformulation of JETS outreach since 2004. "Keeping pace with today’s students is a big challenge, but JETS is moving full speed ahead to update our image and increase the attention of young people from every background. The common thread of the engineering message resonating most often with students is how engineers help change things for the better. JETS programs have always shown the real-world side of engineering, but we are now ready to enhance this experience for students by showing them exactly what ‘real-world’ means."

To communicate this message, JETS has developed a new structure which will focus its competitions and resources into clearly defined categories leading students, parents, and educators down the path of career discovery: Explore, Assess, and Experience Engineering.

Among the changes will be a dramatic revamping and revitalizing of the JETS website at www.jets.org. Staid graphics will be replaced with a complete home page redesign that opens with the beat of techno music, participant photos, and content organized to directly tap into the interests and needs of young people, their parents, and educators.

"Explore" will feature video clips, extreme engineer interviews, and content covering more than 20 disciplines. By showing how engineering is at the core of everything from snowboard design to medical advances to suspension systems for Formula 1 racecars, students can discover how their interests can be turned into careers that truly suit them. Also housed in Explore will be the popular online newsletter, JETS Pre-Engineering Times, with highlights on young engineers, hot topics in engineering, and hands-on classroom activities which further elaborate the engineering message to its 20,000 monthly readers.

Assess, named after JETS’ academic diagnostic tool, will also underscore how JETS is breaking away from the tired stereotype that only the best in math and science can be engineers. "For too long the message of engineering has been that if you don’t excel in math and science, then you can’t be an engineer," says Yoder. Of course, math and science are important, say JETS organizers, but so is the ability to visualize how objects look from different perspectives and thinking analytically by understanding processes and organizing concepts sequentially – critical skills in setting up experiments and planning work. According to The Johnson O’Connor Research Foundation, these are two of the most important aptitudes for career success and enjoyment in those pursuing engineering.

Yoder says that emphasizing the humanitarian side of engineering broadens its appeal far beyond the math and science set. "We need a bigger appeal if we are going to grow the ranks of those ready to take on engineering studies," she notes. "The new approach with Assess is more attractive to girls, minorities, and other students who have these desired aptitudes but aren’t considering engineering. This, in turn, will bring us a better pool of future engineering candidates."

The third component, Experience, presents a new outlook in JETS mainstays such as the annual TEAMS competition. The national one-day competition asks students to tackle challenges that run the gamut from developing scenarios for alternative fuels to designing life support systems for long range space missions.

Keeping TEAMS challenge questions relevant is more than just a matter of cleverness. Piquing the interests of a broader range of young people helped increase first time participation in the 2007 competition by 11 percent. Ten new host sites were added, and half of the TEAMS students surveyed said they will choose engineering as their college major. Yoder adds, "Changing the way we write scenarios brings home the idea that engineers make a difference."

Another major component of the new approach is a renewed push for NEDC, the National Engineering Design Competition, which asks students to use engineering to help people with disabilities enter or advance in the workplace. Again, the humanitarian side of engineering is used to broaden the profession’s appeal.

Yoder says JETS has scheduled the new initiatives for 2007-08 to launch this September. "It’s all about encouraging kids," she says, "not discouraging them."

Prakhar Jain wrote:

quote:

The other sad part is even in the universities which are teaching fluid power, are not getting enough students. Like in my own course, I am the only student !

I believe the reason for this lack of students is that INDUSTRY is NOT ASKING for PERSONS TRAINED in FLUID POWER!?!?!?!?!?

Also ther is no recognized title such as FLUID POWER ENGINEER, HYDRAULICS ENGINEER, PNEUMATICS ENGINEER or any thing remotely resembling these.

Why would anyone train people or be trained in a field that no one is proffering Help Wanted ads for???????????????

Just some thoughts for possible reasons why there is so little interest in Fluid Power knowledge.

Bud:

I am doing a survey on industry trends in Fluid Power, Hydraulics and Pneumatics. I would like to get some of your thoughts. Please let me know the best way to contact you.

Thanks,
Veena

My email is fluidpower1++@++hot**mail.com
Remove the + and *

This is an interesting topic .. I feel like the growth in education-related news in our industry is interesting and critical to the future of the industry. I recently wrote an article in our April issue about the state of fluid power education; I also posted some online exclusives about the industry's needs to involve students at much younger age — down to elementary school.

I was glad to see a couple more news release cross my desk recently encouraging students to participate in fluid power and engineering programs. One is from ASCO Numatics, which is offering a $5000 scholarship to students in fluid control/pneumatics. Visit our blog at http://fluidpowertalk.blogspot.com/ or http://www.ascopneumatics.com/scholarship for more details.

Also on the horizon is UNITE, an event sponsored by the U.S. Army Research Office (USARO)JETS, and JETS, a national non-profit organization dedicated to educating our nation's young people about and preparing them for engineering and technology careers. UNITE includes a series of pre-college engineering summer camps held at nine university locations across the country to help foster an interest in engineering among high school students.

Learn more at http://fluidpowertalk.blogspot.com/ or http://www.jets.org.

Here is an interesting article on one persons perspective on Fluid Power Training in the U.S.

http://www.hpmag.co.uk/features.asp?id=31

Here is a thread on another forum that indicates the way many think is how to get Fluid Power training.

http://cr4.globalspec.com/thread/14792#comment150475