DGD Fluid Power Receives Third Patent for Hydraulic Flow Meter
DGD Fluid Power, a developer of hydraulic and electrohydraulic components, has been awarded a U.S. patent for its CFT Cartridge Flow Transmitter. This is the third patent for company President and CEO Dale Dietel who developed the CFT technology to provide hydraulic flow measurement for better data acquisition and Industry 4.0 integration capabilities.
By measuring flow in a hydraulic system, the CFT transmitter enables continuous monitoring of all critical hydraulic functions, such as component performance, diagnostics, closed loop control and data acquisition for predictive maintenance and remote troubleshooting.
“It has been my career-long goal to bridge the data gap in hydraulic systems,” said Dietel in the company’s press release announcing the new patent award. “While pressure and temperature sensing have been standard for decades, real-time flow data remained difficult to capture.
“With this third patent, we are making it easier than ever for OEMs to 'Know the Flow' and implement predictive maintenance and advanced machine intelligence,” he said.
The CFT series of flow meters are configured as a cartridge valve, utilizing a standard Sun Hydraulics T-18A cavity. This allows easy integration into hydraulic manifolds for continuous flow monitoring without the need for additional bulky hardware or complex inline plumbing.
Additional features of the CFT Cartridge Flow Transmitter include:
- Plug-and-Play Integration: Fits directly into a standard valve cavity, reducing footprint and leak points.
- Advanced Electronics: Microprocessor-based platform with field-selectable flow ranges (up to 150 gpm) and multiple output profiles, including 4-20 mA, 1-10V DC and J1939 CANbus.
- Extreme Durability: Rated for pressures up to 6,000 psi and operating temperatures up to 250 F (125 C), and with a low deltaP of less than 1 psi/gpm.
DGD Fluid Power’s CFT series currently includes three models — the CFT10, CFT20B, and the J1939-compliant CFT-MAX.
