Beginning in Hydraulics

Matt,

Not sure where you are located, but in the U.S. I would find out who your hydraulic component supplliers are and talk with them. I have gotten a book for Fluid Power Designers' called "Lightning Reference Handbook" from a supplier.

My copy is 17 years old and may not be available any more.

Vickers has an excellent manual.

Eaton Industrial Hydraulics Manual

You can find it on Amazon. It is very easy to read and learn from. This is the best reference and learning manual for hydraulics that I have come acrossed.

If you just finished college, you are smart enough not to re-invent the wheel. The Fluid Power Industry is changing fast; I have been teaching Fluid Power and designing systems for almost 40 years and 3 units short of a Masters Degree. If you have the M.E. and want to learn Fluid Power Design then contact the local Fluid Power House and find out who the Wiseman is and start working with him and not only develop a relationship, but a catalog collection and focus on what works in the industry and how to make it better. Trying to learn Fluid Power from a book and like studing a sex manual..., the pictures just are not the same.

Hi

Check out www.hydraulicsupermarket.com they do some great litrature also a monthly news letter which is quite interesting.

The Lightning Reference Handbook is still available. I just received a copy from VMS Inc. $35.68 with shipping. www.VMS-online.com.

A few conflugleties I have seen.

1. Not deadheading a section or system to set the pressure.

2. Don't assume you have flow because you have pressure.

3. Never work on a system without knowing if there are accumulators. You can end up injured or seriously dead.

4. Learn what a choke valve is and all the mysterious problems that arise if they are out of adjustment.

5. Sticking check valves can cost you thousands. They cause many mysterious intermittent problems.

6. Never, never start up a new piston pump without first removing a plug and filling it with oil. I saw a new 100 hp pump trashed this way.

7. Even variable displacement pump systems should have a relief valve set to a little above the system pressure just for safety. Read everything about these pumps carefully. Some if not all manufacturers won't warranty them if you use a strainer.

8. You can't set a limit switch to reverse a linear action at exactly the end of a piston stroke. You must use a choke valve between the pilot and the control valve to slow down the action of the pilot valve spool. This mistake cost my former employers many, many thousands of dollars.

9. Never shop in a store that is surrounded by a swat team.