There were more than 3.2 million online page views of Hydraulic & Pneumatics articles in 2019, but each session on the website hydraulicspneumatics.com accomplished a specific goal for each individual user. If the articles solved a problem, brought new insight into an emerging technology or found a way to troubleshoot a vexing issue, readers continually turn to H&P as the source to get those answers.
Year-end top 10 lists always are a great way to review the year, so here are the 10 most often-sourced articles from 2019—and three predictions for the new year based on those articles:
1. Checking for Cylinder Cavitation Using the VCCM
Cylinder sizing is the most important step when designing a new hydraulic servo system. But how do you determine if the hydraulic cylinder, load, and motion profile will cause cavitation?
2. Asphalt Roller’s Hybrid Drive Goes Beyond Fuel Savings
A collaboration between a machine builder and a hydraulic supplier led to a new design of asphalt rollers that reduces fuel consumption by 15% or more.
3. Progressive Cushioning for Hydraulic Cylinders
What is progressive cushioning, and why would you need it? The answers are surprisingly simple, yet important to safely moving heavy loads.
4. Troubleshooting Challenge: Hose Keeps Failing on Large Press
A 100-ton press was designed and installed to close and form large pieces of ¼- to ½-in. thick sheet metal.
5. Understanding Filtration Specifications
Industry standards for comparing one type of hydraulic filter’s performance to another can seem pretty complicated. Here are some details that might make deciphering some of the terminology less daunting.
6. Hydraulic Pumps Dump the Diesel
Advances in battery technology have made it practical to incorporate variable-speed electric pump drives in mobile hydraulic equipment, which reduces cost, complexity, and noise by supplementing or eliminating a machine’s gas or diesel engine.
Cylinder sizing is the most important step when designing a new hydraulic servo system. The stroke of the cylinder is usually dictated by the application, and many different combinations of cylinder bore and supply pressure can work. It’s just that some combinations work better than others.
8. Trenching Without the Trench
Trenchless technology has revolutionized installation of underground cable and piping—and these impressive machines would not be what they are without hydraulics.
9. Accessorize Your Reservoir to the Application
Hydraulic reservoirs are pretty simple and easy to understand, but they have more than what meets the eye. Plus, any of several different accessories can make them even more effective.
10. Hydraulic Dampers Help Improve Railway Safety and Stability
Technological developments in railway suspension sealing products and materials offer several operational advantages.
And here is what the H&P editorial team sees as the three industry trends we’ll be following for our readers in 2020:
1. A focus on fundamentals
While hydraulics and pneumatics applications evolve, the underlying physics remain unchanged. The engineering basics for hydraulics and pneumatics systems shouldn’t be overlooked in the rush to implement new technologies. Starting with a strong foundation allows technology innovation to flourish.
2. Sensors and maintenance take center stage
The ability to measure, manage, and maintain hydraulic system health is changing the way systems are designed and operated. Bypassing traditional calendar-based or cycle-based maintenance, the use of sensors can give maintenance teams a clearer view of the system health and make informed strategic decisions. The use of this technology will further differentiate progressive manufacturers and operators.
3. Hybrid systems gain more attention
As one Top 10 Hydraulics & Pneumatics article outlines, the use of hydraulic pumps and a variable-speed electric motor are increasing in use thanks to improvements in battery technology. The expanded use of such hybrid applications offer great promise for solutions where the choices of fuels and systems are important. These kinds of hybrid uses already show great promise.
