This article is about an introduction to Fluid power and Pneumatics, their Advantages & Disadvantages, and their Applications.
The basics of fluid power is to pressurize the fluids, these fluids may be gases or liquids. The fluids are incorporated into the system hardware that is used to generate, transmit and control power in a wide range of consumer and industrial applications. This is because fluid power is used to push, pull, regulate, or drive virtually all the machines of modern industry.
These fluid power systems are used in heavy industries for sensitive positioning for doing precision machine operations. Fluid power is called hydraulics when the fluid is liquid and it is called pneumatics when the fluid is gases. Hydraulic systems use liquids such as petroleum, synthetic oils, and water.
On the other pneumatic system uses air as the gas medium because air is very abundant and can be readily exhausted into the atmosphere after completing its assigned work. Fluid power is one of the three types of power transfer systems commonly used today. The other systems are mechanical and electrical. Each of the systems transfers power from a prime mover to an actuator that completes the work of the required system.
A fluid power system uses the prime mover to drive a pump that pressurizes a fluid which is then transferred through pipes and hoses to an actuator.
The following are some of the advantages of a fluid power system that is applicable to both Hydraulics and Pneumatics.
The following are some of the disadvantages of fluid power system which is applicable to both Hydraulics and Pneumatics.
Some of the applications of fluid power systems are:
Pneumatics is the word derived from the Greek which means “breathe”. Real practical Industrial application of pneumatics in production starts in the early 1950s.
The true and worldwide introduction of pneumatics, commenced only when the need for automation and rationalization of operational sequences to increases.
Today mostly all the automation process in the modern industry works with pneumatics. Pneumatics systems use pressurized gases to transmit and control power. Pneumatics systems typically use air (rather than other gases) as the fluid medium, because it is safe, low-cost, and readily available.
Industrial Automation is the largest sector for pneumatics technology, which is widely used for manipulating products in manufacturing, processing, and packaging operations. Pneumatics are also applied in the food and medical processing equipment.
Pneumatics are also used in robot end effectors for picking and placing operations many times a day without deviating from the process flow. In many applications, pneumatics is used more for its ability to provide controlled pressing and squeezing operations than it is for fast and repetitive operations.
And also, pneumatics are used in chemical plants and refineries to actuate large valves. They are also used for lifting and moving workpieces and products.
Following is a list of common pneumatic applications:
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