Colder Products Co., St. Paul, Minn., is celebrating 35 years in business this month. The company was started in 1978 by Mike Lyon, Brian Blenkush and Jim Shingler to design and manufacture quick disconnect fluid couplings for use with plastic tubing that became a simple alternative to the traditional industrial ball and sleeve coupling. With its an […]
Air motors give extra power to bicycles
For several years, I had the pleasure of being able to attend Parker Hannifin’s Chainless Challenge competition, a research and design contest that the company sponsored for several different engineering universities. In it, students were charged to create a bicycle that would use fluid power to increase the speed and power of bicycles traveling on […]
Going old-school with a pneumatic fountain pen
As a young girl who always wanted to be a writer, I always loved the idea of fountain pens. They were classic and beautiful and the style of writing they made was—to me anyway—so sophisticated. I had one once but have since misplaced it in the mess of my office. Although not the typical, “dip-the-nib […]
Seeing pneumatic valves in action jogs the memory
You know you’re a fluid power dork when you go on a short plant tour and while seeing manufacturing in action, you can’t help but study the pumps, valves, compressors, hose, etc. to see what manufacturers are represented. That’s just what my colleague and I did on a recent walk-through of Ace Controls, Farmington Hills, […]
Air motors help milling robot devour sewer obstacles
Traditionally, work in sewers is conducted both above and below ground, with crews opening manholes and descending into the sewers, thus causing road closures and traffic jams. But thanks to modern robotic technologies— powered by small but mighty air motors—clearing out sewer networks and rehabilitating them can be done safely and without impacting the world […]
Pneumatics — ole reliable
Every few years, Cedar Point — which is renowned for its roller coasters being the tallest, fastest, etc. — launches a new ground-breaking ride. As an editor on different engineering magazines, I’ve had several opportunities to visit the park, which is less than an hour from my home, to learn more about the technology that […]
