There are a lot of power transmission applications hydraulics has a monopoly on. But what about those applications for which there is viable competition from mechanical or electro-mechanical alternatives?

When biases such as ‘getting rid of the oil’ (and the leaks that usually go with it) and eliminating the need for in-house hydraulics expertise (which is getting harder to find … Read more

One of our members who works for a hydraulic seal manufacturer wrote me this recently:

“We receive many seal-failure complaints. And while most of these failures can be attributed to installation, assembly, poor hardware preparation or even misuse of the product, we always try to educate our customers as to the cause of failure and provide them guidance to prevent … Read more

A pet hate of mine is hydraulic power units in which the pump is made to ‘lift’ the oil into its intake. In other words, mounting the pump above the tank or more precisely, above minimum oil level. Like a suction strainer, it’s another ‘engineered’ barrier which prevents the pump’s chambers from filling freely and completely.

According to most manufacturers, … Read more