The Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power (CCEFP) opened its annual Fluid Power Innovation & Research Conference (FPIRC) at Nashville’s Vanderbilt University today (Vanderbilt’s own Professor Eric Barth is shown at right, opening the conference). The event, which runs through Thursday, has about 200 registered attendees, about double that of past conferences. Attending the […]
Compressed air fail: Donβt shoot yourself in the foot with air guns
A cabinet manufacturer was concerned about the efficiency of the many hundreds of compressed air guns used on the production line to clean sawdust and debris from cabinet pieces before they are sent for further processing and assembly. A sales representative had sent him some free samples of some optimized compressed air guns that used […]
Compressed Air Fail: Look beyond the symptom for the cure
[A special Guest ΊΪΑΟ³ΤΉΟ from Van Air Systems.] It was the only time a customer has threatened to sue me. His expensive new compressed air dryer wasnβt working correctly. βGet out here now and fix the problem or I call in the lawyers,β he said. Several days later, I sat in his office at the […]
Compressed air fail: Can the compressor βsee?β
A seed cleaning and distribution center had installed a small 20-hp lubricated screw compressor, a desiccant dryer and a large 1060-gal storage receiver installed in their facility. Even though the storage receiver was more than sufficient to reduce the compressor load/unload cycles down to a low frequency, the compressors continued to load and unload rapidly, […]
NFPA’s IEOC Day 1: Nowβs the time to grow manufacturing
August means itβs time for the National Fluid Power Associationβs annual Industry & Economic Outlook Conference. I enjoy the opportunity to listen to the variety of economists discuss what will be happening, both in the U.S. and abroad, over the coming years. The news for manufacturers is reasonably good right now. In fact, Alan Beaulieu, […]
CCEFP update: Additive manufacturing creates MRI-compatible pneumatic actuators
For some 2.2 million patients in the United States suffering from a treatment-resistant neurological disease, needle-based interventions have the potential to provide a minimally-invasive surgical cure. For safety and accuracy, these procedures require visualization of the needle relative to the target and adjacent untreated tissue. This visualization is typically done using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). […]
ΊΪΑΟ³ΤΉΟs and electrics in harmony
Sound Machines 2.0 was developed to use automation for an artistic endeavorβto make music. ΊΪΑΟ³ΤΉΟ cylinders make strings vibrate, while electric drives determine the harmony. Sound Machines 2.0 comprises five self-playing stringed instruments that combine to produce an intelligent, robot-controlled sound installation. It records any melody played to it, uses it to compose a new […]
10 considerations for choosing an air-driven ejector
ByΒ Josef Karbassi β’ VP Division Automation β’ Piab AB Industries including packaging, electronics, automotive, glass, and plastics are discovering the advantages of this low-cost option for vacuum systems. Air-driven ejectors are gaining pace as the vacuum source for suction cup handling equipment on robots and special purpose machines, such as case/carton erectors, de-stackers or unloading […]
The simple but necessary pressure gauge
By Josh Cosford, Contributing Editor A pressure gauge is a fluid intensity measurement device, without which, the amplitude of hydraulic or pneumatic energy would be guesswork. Pressure gauges are required for the set-up and tuning of fluid power machines, and are also indispensable in troubleshooting them. Without pressure gauges, fluid power systems would be both […]
Reservoirs help airbags inflate at the push of a button
Airbags usually fill with air at lightning speed on impactβwithin 20 to 50 milliseconds. Volkswagen equipped a Golf GTI with an airbag demonstrator to show what an airbag looks like inflated and how it worksβwithout the accident. Festo developed the required compressed-air system that inflates the protective airbags at the press of a button. In […]
