Insane Hydraulics
Bold and audacious blog about fluid power
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I invite you to build a simple torque limiter pump control with me in Tackling Torque Limiting Pump Controls - Part One. There's an interactive chart inside, and if you play with it long enough, you will be able to tell why a torque chart of many pumps with these controls has "two humps"...
The year started at full speed, so we've been quite busy, but I managed to find a couple of free hours to give the last week's project a better description. (You may need to refresh the page to view the changes).
My Fiends, the Pressure Maker 2 is finally here!
Hard to believe it's 2022 already! We all had a rough year, yet all that's hydraulic is still "pumping" around here, with no slowing down in sight. I wish you all a great year! And start this one with a reminder that set screw plugs and orifices, often used in hydraulic pumps and motors, are never guaranteed to "stay put" even when glued in place, so it's important to know where they should be and check if they are still there.
I wrapped up all of the emergencies on the 24th, and managed to take the 25th as a day off, which felt great! Hopefully, I will be finishing this year as a sane person. Anyhow, since I've been doing nothing but dealing with scrapped pumps this last week, I'm re-uploading the report from the "bust'a'pump competition" in a better resolution. Make sure your pumps never end up like this!
A question to owners of hydraulic equipment - Should You Cheap Out on Your Hydraulic Oil?
I am working through this weekend, investigating a series of nasty break-downs, most likely related to the hydraulic oil. Hopefully, there will be another "industrial lesson" to share soon. For now - another "oil-related" story from the past - Hydraulic System Failure, Caused by a Chemical Reaction.
The second generation of the "pressure maker" will have to wait for another couple of weeks - I have it built and tested, but the bluing of steel parts and other final touches take more time than I expected. It actually turns out a pretty cool-looking table-top fidget, so I'll show it off as soon as I can.
Today I want to go into pump repairs and talk about a wear pattern that can "fool you" if you're not careful when you are inspecting pump parts, and also tell you a story of how I "got caught" by it and had to rebuild the same unit twice.
The Smart Industrial Monitor venture started about two years ago - and even though I couldn't be happier with the results, I found that very few people shared my enthusiasm, which is why I eventually put it "on hold". At least the development part. I've been using my gadgets non-stop. The pandemic did add a lot to that, of course.
But the webinar gave me a lot to think about, and as I was returning to the project that's been on ice for such a long time, I started to think that maybe reviving the development isn't such a bad idea after all.
As I was looking through the project's history - I discovered (to my surprise and horror) that several related pages were still in the older format, which made it impossible to view them correctly in some browsers. So, I had to do some "emergency re-factoring" today.
The article in which I was comparing pressure transmitters was actually a big deal, so I am very glad it's all fixed now. On a related note - I'm reforming the "pressure maker" from that post. I gathered enough industrial scrap to build a far more elegant and portable solution, so stay tuned - I'll be showcasing the second generation next week!
Ok, so the AFPS webinar has happened, and given the fact that it was my first time both participating and presenting - it didn't go too bad (I think) although my presenting skills definitely "require refinement". It was very scary! But I honestly enjoyed every moment! The presentation pdf can be downloaded here, and the recording of the event can be reviewed here. (Do bear in mind how scared I was...) And also today - a few words (and a tale) about the Reuse of Hydraulic Oil in a Shop.
I have an exciting announcement to make! I was invited by the Australian Fluid Power Society as a speaker to their quarterly webinar to talk about my wireless gadgets. I am super excited! It's happening next week, November 17, at noon (Perth time). So, if you want to:
Please register here. Participation is free and the registration is super fast. I'll see you on the other side!
Today I am comparing medium and heavy-duty pumps, toying with math, and Wondering if This Can Be Considered a Pump "Longevity Hack"?
Fixing an Excavator Pump That Stalls the Engine - Scrap Yard Style!
Service case study of a "longevity monster" - Parker PV140 Hydraulic Pump After 14,000 Hours of Operation in Harsh Conditions.
This case was simple to diagnose, but it describes a very common aeration cause - above oil level line termination - Abnormal Noise Caused by the Aeration of Hydraulic Oil.
Today's case is another example of how bench tests can fail to simulate real-life conditions - Overheating Caused by a Hydrostatic Steering Unit
DC Coils of Solenoid Operated Valves
If you examine the way designers "tweak" the geometry of the axial piston swash-plate mechanism to meet the "swashplate tilting challenge", the boring topic of Pressure-Dependent Swashplate Torque in Inline Axial Piston Pumps actually becomes quite interesting, IMHO.
This troubleshooting episode taught me how to properly read servo-pressures of a closed-loop pump - Reading Servo Pressures in Closed Loop Pumps and Pushing Airplanes
The story (including my theories) of An Impossible Shaft Seal Leak.
Checking Hydraulic Accumulator Pre-Charge Without a Charging Kit - an old, but still valid video included.
How to Make Your HPU Designs a Lot Better
Random Thoughts About Selling Hydraulic Stuff
Turn Your (Hydraulic) Enemy Into a Friend!
The Tale of the Golden Safety Rule