Posted to News on 23rd Jan 2017, 00:00
How to control hydraulic flow rates more efficiently
Eaton has published a new white paper that provides background and approaches for reducing energy consumption in applications where flow rates need to be controlled. Using hydraulic power units as an example, the power management company’s new white paper, entitled ‘Planning and operating hydraulic power units to provide greater energy efficiency’, explains how and why the choice of drive concept for hydraulic pumps can have a significant impact on energy and life cycle costs.
Machine and system builders can achieve energy savings of over 50% if they use variable speed drives. At the same time they benefit from lower heat generation, and thus reduce cooling requirements. Other important benefits include achieving a more compact design and reducing pump noise level. The paper also discusses and explains the role of power management and the contribution that an intelligent wiring and communication system can make in preparing machines for the Internet of Things, i.e. in making machines IoT-ready.
The white paper also shows that reducing the energy consumption of a hydraulic unit is only a first step towards creating a highly efficient system. The next is to create the right conditions for a power management system. This requires comprehensive recording and analysis of energy and machine data.
Replacing the current standard of complex point-to-point wiring with an intelligent wiring and communication system provides a cost-effective approach to this. This not only reduces the wiring workload, but makes it easier to integrate simple automation devices – such as motor starters, sensors or actuators – through easily installed intelligent communication modules.
