Fluid Power Industrial Consortium Focuses on Electrification in Fluid Power, Draws Large Attendance

On March 1, the Milwaukee School of Engineering hosted the latest Fluid Power Industrial Consortium (FPIC) seminar in Milwaukee. As a partner organization, a large number of NFPA members attended at no charge.

The presentation content focused on recent developments in the electrification of fluid power systems, across the entire landscape, from mobile hydraulics, to industrial hydraulics, to pneumatics.

• Michael Terzo of Terzo Power Systems discussed the development of a direct fluid control system that removes the inefficiencies and complexity related to valve control by tightly integrating a pump driven and controlled by servo motor with actuation. He explained how the resulting efficiency gains and size and weight improvements improved control and reduced noise. These system improvements hit the key goals of the NFPA Technology Roadmap while also controlling initial cost.
• Gary Lafayette of SunSource described how barriers have been falling for the use of telematics on mobile equipment. As a result of increased controller ruggedness, easier programming, and declining initial investment requirements, remote connectivity is enabling an array of functions on a more turnkey basis, such as diagnostics, predictive service, fleet management, and more.
• Nathan Eisel of SMC Corp. talked about the electrification of pneumatic systems, and how wireless technology can greatly minimize and simplify system wiring, lessen “soft” costs such as maintenance, and at the same time form the basis for interconnectivity to the cloud for data management and analysis.

The slides for these presentations are available for download here. Login is required.

Immediately following the FPIC seminar, the NFPA Technology Roadmapping teams met to continue work on a 2019 update of the current roadmap.

The next FPIC meeting takes place June 7^th in Milwaukee, and will focus on Industrial Internet of Things Benefits and Applications or Fluid Power Systems. More information about future programs can be found at https://nfpahub.com/events/fluid-power-industrial-consortium-fpic/.