Minnesota West Community & Technical College

Fluid Power Technology

 

  

WHAT IS FLUID POWER?

 

   Hydraulics                Electrical                Pneumatics

  Pressurized Fluid       Related Motion Control           Pressurized Air

 

  

Applications of Fluid Power

 

¯     Automation

Fluid Power is utilized in every field of automation.  Industry needs engineers and designers who can integrate high-tech controls with fluid power and provide machines with faster responses and greater decision-making capabilities.  Plant engineers, managers, technicians, and maintenance people keep these integrated systems running smoothly.

 

¯     Energy

Engineers, technicians, and maintenance workers use knowledge of fluid power in offshore oil drilling, underground coalmines, and other energy industry applications.  Hydraulic and pneumatic components perform well under brutal conditions.  Fluid power also captures the wind as an energy source.

 

¯     Agriculture

Fluid Power gives farm equipment the horsepower and speeds necessary for crop cultivation and harvesting.  Design engineers magnify these advantages through integration with electronics, computers, sensors, and lasers.  Engineers and plant managers in the food processing industry depend upon clean pneumatic power and control for food washing, canning, and packaging.

 

¯     Construction

The machines that dig, crush, level, and move earth and rock depend on the tough reliability of fluid powered equipment, making the construction industry the largest single user of fluid power.  Machine designers seek ways to increase operator comfort and ease operation of these rugged vehicles.  They look to fluid power to provide both muscle and control.

 

¯     Recreation

Fluid Power's industrial or field capabilities are modified for recreational, entertainment, and at-home use.  Roller coasters, ski lifts, and hydrofoils all use fluid power.  Many great movies have fluid power controlled and actuated "actors."  Every one of King Kong's gargantuan toes was propelled by a separate hydraulic cylinder and was controlled by its own set of valves.  The ferocious shark in Jaws was all pneumatic-perfectly compatible with its watery environment.