This article focuses on the common problems associated with hydraulic systems and how these issues can affect individual components as well as the systems themselves. It gives an in-depth insight into how problems initially develop, any knock on effects and how failures can happen if the issue isn’t diagnosed correctly.

The America's Cup is the world's largest sailing event, involving yacht clubs from around the world. The event has been running since 1851, and has seen the introduction of cutting edge sailing technology over the last one and a half centuries that it has been competing. The foiling catamarans, examples of precision engineering at its finest, are manoeuvred by six people who control the sails, the foil, the wing and rudder. Each boat is broadly similar, as the design, shape and size i...

Making an important decision is never easy, and choosing the right hydraulic pump is no exception. As with any major decision on equipment, the functionality of the item is the most important thing to consider and base your choice on, because if you select a hydraulic pump that does not fulfil all the functional requirements it will turn out to be a bad investment. Knowing exactly what the hydraulic pump is expected to do makes it much easier to narrow down the choices.

Designers working on hydraulic systems often opt straight for high working pressures, often due to the availability of components that are tried and tested as working well together. There may also be a requirement to use a certain manufacturer or part in the design, specified due to cost, stock and other business reasons. Designers often also like to use high pressures to reduce the cylinder diameters for aesthetic reasons, as well as design specific reasons; if a system would not fit in the des...

With hydraulic fluid contamination being the cause of more than 75% of hydraulic system failures, it’s important to know how to reduce it.Hydraulic fluid contamination can cause many negative effects. For example, it can degrade fluid and prematurely age it. It can also raise the rate of internal leakage which will impact on performance and also decrease the efficiency of components such as motors, cylinders and pumps. Valves that have been affected by contamination will have a greater challeng...

Hidden Hydraulic SystemsWhen you work with hydraulics every day it is easy to take the technology for granted, especially when you know how it works and for what purposes. However, most hydraulic engineers focus on a specific application of the mechanisms and may not realise that there are other uses for the technology that we use every day. For example, petrol pumps use hydraulics to draw the fuel up from the reservoir and deliver it into your vehicle. When you draw up to the pump you make use ...

Low-cost manufacturing of hydraulic systems has become far more common since China entered the marketplace. In fact, the nation has taken the top spot when it comes to their factories in this field.

The most critical requisite of running any piece of reliable hydraulic equipment is to keep it clean. Unfortunately, extreme pressure systems provide a constant battleground to fight against potential system contamination by particles, dirt, dust and other matter that can all get into the works. Keeping fittings, pipes, valves, filters and any other components clean is an absolute must if you are looking to run your machine efficiently and with optimised output.

Our hydraulic power units are used in a variety of different situations. Sometimes they are required to be operated in potentially explosive atmospheres. At the heart of every hydraulic system is a power unit. It needs to be reliable and be capable of performing the job at hand. We design each of our power packs to be cost effective, reliable solutions. They are application-specific to complement our cylinders.

Most manufacturers are now faced with the task of doing the seemingly impossible – to reduce carbon footprint whilst increasing efficiency. Energy regulations from the government are bearing down on companies at the same time as they are needing to reduce expenses. Improving efficiency is something they are looking into.