For this month’s newsletter, we’re focusing on the topic of electrification as it continues to be an important design initiative in both mobile and industrial applications, and thus for the fluid power, electromechanical and other technology suppliers serving them. A desire to reduce energy use and costs, maintenance as well as emissions are all drivers for this trend — and are likely to remain so in the years ahead.
The push to electrify vehicles and machines is prompting a range of technological developments and design changes to components and systems. For instance, new performance requirements are being placed on hydraulic fluids and lubricants such as the need for higher cleanliness levels to minimize the presence of contaminants which could damage sensitive electronic components.
While batteries, electric motors and other components are being introduced to vehicles and machines, there will continue to be a strong reliance on fluid power systems. Improving the efficiency of hydraulics to reduce power draw on batteries is just one of the focus areas for the fluid power industry as it works with customers in the electrification space.
Rising adoption of electric motion control technologies to achieve increased precision and efficiency is how electrification is taking form in industrial applications. However, as Nick Buccheri, President Americas Discrete Automation at Emerson, explained to me in an interview, it’s not about replacing one technology with another but rather choosing the best motion solution for each application. This could mean electric solutions are utilized, pneumatic or a hybrid of the two.
Whatever form it takes, it’s clear through the content in this month’s newsletter — and the conversations I continue to have with various companies — that electrification is and will remain a priority area that is sure to bring several interesting technology developments to the market in the coming years.
How is electrification influencing your technology designs? What changes is it bringing to the market? What topics, related to electrification or other subjects, would you like to see us cover in the coming year? Take our quick poll or send me an email at [email protected] to offer your thoughts!
One last note, this will be the final edition of our monthly In Focus newsletters so we can focus our content development on other formats and delivery methods. I hope you’ve enjoyed these newsletters and feel free to let me know how you might otherwise like to see larger trends and topics of importance covered in the future. We have other great newsletters you can subscribe to as well to ensure you’re staying on top of the latest in the fluid power and broader motion control industry.
Sara Jensen, Editor, Power & Motion
