One of my earliest road trips when I began covering fluid power was just across town, to Cleveland’s east sideβwhere I was asked to cover the Parker Hannifin Chainless Challenge. It was the kind of assignment you give to a junior editor, one where they only have to take a short car ride (and not […]
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Leadership in Engineering: Dr. Dava Newman leads engineers toward teamwork
NASAβs Deputy Administrator Dava Newman has a vision for the future of humankind on Mars and on earth. She advocates for an inclusive approach to garner top talent for math, science, art and design fields encompassed in STEAMD programsβand thinks that understanding engineering as an integrated field for problem solving will ultimately serve the industry […]
Should I use a wet or dry storage receiver?
Either way, the answer is yes! Let me explain. Having adequate receiver capacity is very important to both reciprocating and screw compressors to prevent rapid cycling in the load/unload or start/stop condition. As mentioned in a previous blog post, having large storage helps make a compressor run more efficiently and extends its lifetime. But a […]
Top 8 pneumatic stories of the year
Although fluid power is whatβs referred to as a βmature technology,β that certainly doesnβt mean itβs an area of technology where there isnβt news, where there arenβt improvements over old designs or subsystems, or where everyone knows all the best practices. So, in that spirit, letβs take a look back at some of the top […]
Parkerβs Air Saver decreases compressed air waste, increases productivity
At PackExpo last month, Parker Hannifin highlighted its Air Saver Unit, which allows for easy adjustment of impulsed air flow to blow off contaminants, clean, move, and agitate products. Additionally, the company launched an updated suite of 15 apps to help properly size compressed air devices to reduce energy and waste. After a soft launch […]
Digital positioners for fluid-power actuators
ΊΪΑΟ³ΤΉΟ and hydraulic actuators routinely operate damper drives, flow valves, vacuum controls and other devices in countless process applications. However, there can be a sizeable performance gap between conventional open-loop positioners and closed-loop digital positioners used in such tasks. The problem, explained Ed Steutermann, president of KyTronics, Prospect, Ky., is that open-loop controllers apply a […]
Can fluid power play a role in wearable exoskeletons?
Popular movies have long imagined robotic assist type machinery, from the Power Loader exoskeleton that Ripley wore in Aliens to the military weaponry showcased in Starship Troopers and Avatarβnot to mention basically the entire premise of the Iron Man movies. But, as so often happens, the real world is catching up to the imaginations of […]
Looking to the future of AI … in 2026
In celebration of our parent company’s 10th anniversary, our entire editorial staff authoredΒ forward-thinking columns, examining how we think the world and the manufacturing industry will be different in another 10 years. Here’s my take … What will the manufacturing world be like in 2026? How will it be different? How will the job of a […]
Itβs just lunchβcheck out NFPAβs regional meetings
Iβm a big fan of the National Fluid Power Associationβs series of regional meetings. The association has done a nice job in recent years holding these free luncheons in cities with a strong regional fluid power populationβincluding Detroit, Chicago, Minneapolis and Milwaukee. Now, for the first time in quite a few years, the NFPA is […]
FPDA/ISD Joint Industry Summit includes look at future of distribution
Frank Hurtte, of River Heights Consulting, spoke at this weekβs FPDA/ISD Joint Industry Summit at the Westin Savannah on the state of the world of fluid power distributionβand what the future holds. Hurtte kept the audience engaged, noting that experts have told some pretty scary stories over the years. These so-called experts, he said, have […]
