The Golden Unicorn - Hyd Future

Despite concerted efforts to improve its image in recent decades, hydraulics is still seen as a dinosaur by many users. As a result, it is not the first choice among young recruits. Graduates tend to be drawn to start-up environments with their digital business ideas and, in the figurative sense, to the object of desire—a golden unicorn.

Internationally, the unicorn symbolizes innovation and creativity—ideas with a wow factor that make a lot of money. Regardless of how the outside world perceives hydraulics, the global economic importance of hydraulics is undisputed, with sales amounting to many tens of billions of dollars. Paradoxically, the economic importance of fluid power technology still contrasts sharply with the way it is perceived by users, the public, and the scientific community.

How can hydraulics technology transition its image to the new world? The answer is simple; the dinosaur must adapt by integrating new technologies, especially electronic control, and electromechanical power transmission. By doing so, hydraulics will metamorphose into a novel, high-tech experience for users.

In specific terms, this means retaining hydraulics’ strengths and combining them with the opportunities and benefits found in the technical “IT consumer world.” Users will then perceive “hidden” hydraulics as a compact, finished functional module—simple, intuitive, connected, and quickly installed. Regardless of this vision of the future, hydraulics must maintain its position against electromechanical drives. The technological shift is already highly advanced in many sectors.

Here, we need to defend our territory. Unlike hydraulics, easier connectivity and simpler IT connections have long been integral to the DNA of electromechanical solutions. But how can we ensure the future viability of industrial hydraulics over the next decade, and what must we do to make it more competitive? Aim for the golden unicorn!

The mistaken perception of hydraulics as dinosaur technology should disappear as Industry 4.0 transforms these impressions into more of a golden unicorn.

The Industrial Environment

Industrial hydraulics is not immune to the developments taking place in a constantly changing market environment. However, hip new technology topics are not the sole factors shaping the scene in the years ahead. Several familiar trends will continue to be essential to future growth.

Energy efficiency. When considering major trends, invariably the environment and the scarcity of resources play an important role. They require more energy-efficient drive systems. In Europe for example, energy-related regulations apply on a component level (e.g., the IE3 standard for electric motors). On top of this, many standards and codes are in place for machines—efficiency labels for mass-produced machines, for example.

The importance of energy efficiency is growing beyond just industrialized nations. Energy is still far too cheap in many regions of the world, and new, innovative, approaches will only emerge from supply and price pressures. Given its specific advantages (high power density, large forces), hydraulics is predestined for powerful machines. This applies especially to pressure supply stations where energy-saving drive solutions are particularly beneficial.

Outlook. The ever-present issue of energy efficiency has sparked a steady rise in the use of speed-controlled drive systems. Highly efficient servo motors are increasingly replacing standard asynchronous motors. Technically scalable solutions are already available on the market.

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Reprint from August 5, 2019, Malone Specialty Inc