Slowing and stopping a towed vehicle can be tricky. To simplify this, SMI Brake, Newburg, Ind., turned to Clippard Instrument Laboratory, Cincinnati, and Isaacs Fluid Power, Indianapolis, to provide solutions for braking a towed vehicle. Pneumatics was chosen over solenoids because of its compact size, efficiency, consistency and long term reliability. SMI offers three solutions […]
Meeting industrial safety standards with pneumatics
When it comes to machine operations, safety is a must. Businesses that require their employees to work on or near hazardous energy must commit to implementing best safety practices, which include detailed safety risk assessments. This is necessary when working with the safety standard DIN-EN-ISO 13849-1, which was put in place in 2012. This standard […]
CCEFP Update: MEMS technology helping to create micro-pneumatic valves
Reducing size and energy consumption is paramount in most any-market application today, particularly in orthoses, which require compact power and control. To this end, a novel miniature proportional valve for controlling airflow in pneumatic systems is being developed at the University of Minnesota. The valve is expected to require two orders of magnitude, less power […]
Braking with the power of air
Edited by Mary C. Gannon, Senior Editor Stopping a heavy industrial operation quickly and safely during maintenance operations is easily accomplished with air clutches and brakes. As machines get bigger, faster and smarter, maintenance remains a key challenge to many heavy equipment operators—the expense and lost time it takes to repair a down machine can […]
Miniaturization makes pneumatics the choice in medical applications
From ambulance to operating room, recovery room to discharge at home, patients today encounter any number of medical devices that must be lightweight, small, safe, and often, portable. To maintain these safe, hygienic designs, most medical device manufacturers rely on pneumatics because they are highly customizable and compact. As the demands for these types of […]
IoT is the next big game-changer in pneumatics
If there is one topic that causes great concern in every industry, it’s downtime. Unplanned downtime of a machine can cost thousands of dollars depending on how long it stays down. In most electrical systems, and some hydraulic ones, diagnostic systems and sensors have been available to alert system operators that a critical component is […]
Pneumatics give Cedar Point’s Power Tower riders a choice to free fall or skyrocket 240 ft.
Sending riders skyrocketing up 240 ft or dropping them in a free-fall the same distance was a challenge that only pneumatics could solve for ride designers of Cedar Point’s Power Tower. For the third installment in Design World’s Summer Tech Vacation video series, Editorial Director Paul Heney speaks with Monty Jasper, Corporate Vice President for […]
NFPA launches giving society to support education, research
In more exciting news this week, The National Fluid Power Association’s Education and Technology Foundation announced that it has launched a new annual giving society to increase support for fluid power education and research. Named after Blaise Pascal, the French mathematician, physicist and inventor whose famous law describes the fundamental principle that gives fluid power its […]
Fluid power leaders set to gather for NFPA Economic Conference
Next week, hundreds of members of the fluid power industry will gather at Chicago’s Westin North Shore for the National Fluid Power Association’s Industry and Economic Outlook Conference (IEOC). Considered by many to be the industry’s most popular annual event, it will be held Monday, August 11 to Wednesday, August 13. It will offer hard data, critical […]
What are air springs?
![Air-Actuator-1002[Originals]](https://www.pneumatictips.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Air-Actuator-1002Originals-150x150.jpg)
Air springs have been used in heavy duty vehicle suspension systems for nearly a century, where they have been able to provide usefulness by taking advantage of the compressed air required for vehicle braking systems. Air springs have provided a two-fold advantage over mechanical leaf- or coil-springs. One advantage with air suspension is the extra […]
