A common complaint of fluid power engineers is that they don't receive enough training or continuing education. The cost of many short courses, not to mention travel expenses, can make this an almost impossible proposition for many motion control engineers.

Bringing high-quality educational seminars to engineers, designers, and maintenance personnel is the goal of the inaugural Fluid Power Expo, scheduled for November 8-9, 2005 at Cleveland's Crowne Plaza Hotel. Sixteen seminars are planned over the two-day event, along with a selection of tabletop exhibits from some of the brightest manufacturing and distribution stars in the fluid power universe.

The first 50 paid registered attendees will receive a free copy of the Fluid Power Designers' Lightning Reference Handbook. Packed with nearly 200 pages of information, the handbook contains descriptions of ANSI and ISO standards, units of conversion tables, electric motor dimensional and performance data, formulas for calculating fluid power design parameters, specifications on fluid flow and components, a glossary, and a list of common abbreviations.

A complete listing of the sessions follows. Cost for attending one or both days is only $25, which includes lunch on both days. To register, or for details on dates and times, visit www.fluidpowerexpo.com

Electrohydraulic control for mobile applications
Today's bigger, multifunctional machines require operators to do much more than drive a vehicle and operate a single implement. Add to this a growing demand for energy efficiency, and today's designers of mobile hydraulic systems face unprecedented challenges. Attend this session to learn the latest about electrohydraulic controls that make machines more productive, versatile, energy efficient, reliable, and easier to operate and troubleshoot.

Presented by Terry Hershberger, director, Electronic Products, Bosch Rexroth Corp., Mobile Hydraulics Div., Wooster, Ohio

Electrohydraulic control for industrial applications
Industrial machinery demands rapid production rates and high repeatability, but also the versatility to adjust to changing conditions on the fly. This session addresses the challenges facing control of industrial hydraulic systems and how they are met by electronics and serial communication that monitor input signals from pressure and position sensors and generate command signals to pumps and valves. Sophisticated, yet easy to apply control methods will be described.

Presented by Ken Dulinski, senior technical training instructor, Eaton Hydraulics, Southfield, Mich.

Minimize hydraulic shock to increase system reliability
Hydraulic shock can damage components and systems in more ways than one. Shock can shorten the life of hose, seals, gauges, electronic and other components; cause fluid leakage and erratic operation; and wreak havoc on entire systems. Therefore, eliminating or reducing shock goes a long way toward improving system reliability, life, and operation. This session explores the sources of hydraulic shock and simple, yet effective ways of eliminating or reducing shock — even if you're on a tight budget.

Presented by Continental Hydraulics, Savage, Minn.

Best practices: compressed air energy costs
This session addresses the evolving trend of reducing compressed air costs in capital equipment used in manufacturing plants. Capital equipment manufacturers who propose lower operating costs from energy savings will grab the attention of their potential customers. Design tips aimed at reducing air costs will be explained and linked to opportunities for machine builders to sell more based on a documented cost of ownership approach.

Presented by Parker Hannifin Corp., Automation Technology and Fluid Connector Groups, Cleveland.

Basics of electrohydraulic motion control
This session opens by defining motion control, followed by discussions of conventional hydraulic motion-control methods, motion-control profiles, and system response. Overshoot and lag are covered, as well as the factors that affect performance, plus hydromechanical resonant frequency. Motion-control design methods and the positional servo mechanism are examined to round out the session.

Presented by Jack L. Johnson, P.E., Sponsored by Parker Hannifin Corp., Hydraulics Group, Cleveland.

Make the most of your hydraulic power unit
Right-sizing a hydraulic power unit involves careful selection of the pump, electric motor, reservoir, and accessories to achieve adequate pressure and flow. However, the current trend toward smaller reservoirs, quieter operation, and cleaner fluid makes the detail-oriented task of component selection more complex than simply picking components from a catalog.

Presented by John C. Balliett, Fluid Systems Service Corp., Cleveland.

How's the quality of your plant's compressed air?
Compressed air has become as much of a utility in manufacturing plants as electricity or water. Used primarily to operate tools and automated machines, compressed air must be kept clean and dry to avoid production setbacks. This session helps attendees assess the quality (cleanliness and moisture content) of their plants' compressed air to achieve maximum efficiency and reliability.

Presented by Paul Marsh, Donaldson Co., Minneapolis.

Effective heat management
If hydraulic systems were 100% efficient, they wouldn't build up any heat. In the real world, however, unused hydraulic power becomes heat. This session explores how heat is generated in a hydraulic system and what can be done to reduce heat generation. Several examples will be presented to illustrate a wide variety of common problems and solutions.

Presented by Bryan Day, Thermal Transfer Products Ltd., Racine, Wis.

Control valves and interfacing
A discussion of electromechanical energy conversion opens this session, followed by an explanation of directional control valves as bridge circuits. Next, torque motors, force motors, and proportional solenoids are studied, along with valve testing and characteristics, catalog data, null characteristics, and comparisons of valve designs.

Presented by Jack L. Johnson, P.E., IDAS Engineering Inc., East Troy, Wis.

Make pneumatic systems energy misers
Compressed air has become a precious utility, but many designers often produce circuits that get the job done but waste energy. This session introduces an easy-to-understand, practical method of sizing valves, actuators, and entire systems that achieve optimum performance and energy efficiency at the same time. Learn more about this practical method that has withstood the test of time.

Presented by Dale Kohlsmith, Numatics-Inc., Highland, Mich.

Advantages of air-over-oil circuits
Hydraulics is most often used because of its high-pressure capability, whereas pneumatics generally is called on because tapping into a compressed air system is so convenient. Capitalizing on the advantages of both systems captures the best of both worlds. This session explains how to integrate hydraulic and pneumatic systems into circuits to take advantage of their special characteristics.

Presented by James J. Staczek, Industrial Design & Supply Inc., Toledo.

Exploring 2D and 3D component drawings
What's great about being a design engineer today is the availability of twoand three-dimensional component drawings that make your job easier by allowing you to import them into your system drawings. This session explores several examples dealing with fluid power systems using 3D PartStream.net to help you take full advantage of these powerful tools that can quickly and easily be tailored to your applications.

Presented by James Ustar, Solidworks Corp., Concord, Mass.

Get the most bang for your filtration buck
All hydraulic systems need filtration, and in most cases, the more filtration, the better. However, specifying filters for a new system adds to initial cost, and having to maintain them adds to maintenance and operating cost. Plus, some types of filtration cost more than and are more effective than others. So how do you determine how much filtration your system needs? How much can you get by with? And when is additional filtration no longer cost effective?

Presented by Philip Johnson, Donaldson Co., Minneapolis.

Hydraulic troubleshooting
When a hydraulic system won't build pressure, the pressure's on you to get things running again. Is the problem electric or hydraulic, and how do you tell the difference? Don't panic — follow a systematic approach gained through years of practical experience that can help you identify malfunctions and trace the root of the cause. Discover the importance of preventive maintenance to head-off problems before they start, and learn some of the most likely causes of hydraulic system failures.

Presented by John C. Balliett, Fluid Systems Service Corp., Cleveland.

Economical compressed air management
Compressed air has been a valuable utility in industry for decades, but today's climate demands getting more for less. This session will help you do just that by outlining methods to squeeze more energy from your plant's compressed air system while lowering your electric bill. Common problems with compressed air management open the discussion, followed by innovative solutions, real-world examples, and one-on-one questions and answers.

Presented by James J. Staczek, Industrial Design & Supply Inc., Toledo.

Sealing solutions
Pound for pound, seals probably bring more to the table than any other component in a fluid power system. They must fit tight enough to keep high-pressure fluid from leaking, yet not be so tight that they wear prematurely. It's no wonder that there are so many different seal materials, shapes, and configurations. Learn how to identify which combination of characteristics is best suited to your application and examine dozens of problem and solution analyses.

Presented by Clive Hill, Simrit, Div. Freudenberg NOK, Plymouth, Mich.