Electro-hydrostatic compact drives are an emerging technology within a range of industrially available translational drive solutions, combining the specific advantages of hydraulic and electromechanical screw drives. Compared to electromechanical screw drives, hydrostatic drives can vary their transmission ratio with comparably little effort, giving them the key advantage of downsizing the electric drive components for a given load cycle. This paper provides a guideline on how to calculate the downsizing potential of electric motors and inverters arising from variable transmission ratio based on the load regime of a given application. Furthermore, a comprehensive systematisation of the actual switching process is described for systems that are switched by means of switching valves. The presented set of methodology is applied to demonstrators in order to validate the general findings.

Modern industrial production processes are increasingly characterized by digital solutions in order to continuously increase their efficiency while taking sustainability aspects into account. Pneumatic components and systems have been and will continue to be an essential part of modern production plants and must face the special challenges posed by digitalization [... aus dem Text]

Leakage in a vacuum system causes the pressure to rise if it is not compensated like in case the supply energy carriers fail. This leads to the workpiece to be dropped. So in order to design vacuum gripping systems that can withstand a failure of the supply energy carriers over a predefined amount of time, it is crucial to know the influences and effects of leakage. In previous examinations the behavior of leakage has been examined on the basis of a closed fluidic reservoir with a hole in its wall. But the only impacts taken into account here are the volume of the reservoir, the diameter of the hole and the pressure difference. Whereas when it comes to vacuum gripping systems, the leakage has significantly more influencing factors as it is neither a single component nor a closed system. In vacuum gripping systems leakage mostly occurs at the interface between the suction cups and the workpiece. So in this contribution the focus is on the impact of the properties of those components, and how the variation of these properties affects leakage. To achieve this, a theoretical description is done based on the aforementioned research, which is expanded in order to the relevant characteristics of a vacuum gripping system. After that the description is evaluated on a test bench. The goal is to be able to make a statement about the leakage rate for a vacuum gripping system composed of standard components. This can then be used in the design process of such gripping systems, which have to fulfil the requirement of compensating leakage in case the energy supply fails.

With regard to autonomous driving the demands on comfort are increasing. This makes it attractive to use active suspension systems. The system developed at TU Darmstadt is able to increase driving comfort up to 28 % while maintaining driving safety compared to a passive suspension system. This paper investigates the influence of available energy and power of the active system. The investigation is based on a simulation of a quarter car model and an uneven country road. This paper shows that the more energy the active system has at its disposition, the greater is the range between a comfortable and a sporty chassis. Furthermore the driving comfort can be increased by 28 % with constant driving safety. The average power required for this is 15 W and the maximum power is 300 W.

For many companies, energy efficiency starts with production. For this reason, special consideration must be given to the production operation as a whole as well as its sub-areas. The strict legal requirements, as well as the companies`green policies which are defined as a result of these, create complex challenges, which SMC meets with expertise and passion as a manufacturer, partner and solution provider in electric and pneumatic automation technology. On the basis of an actual customer requirement, SMC Germany has developed an innovation in the field of pneumatic energy efficiency: The Air Saving Circuit for double acting pneumatic cylinders , under the working title of Air Saving Box . The underlying idea and focus of the solution was to make good use of the compressed air generated in existing cylinders, instead of simply allowing it to go to waste. The Air Saving Box enables significant energy savings in production. Based on this customised solution, SMC has also developed an industry-independent concept that can also be integrated into existing applications.

This paper discusses an investigation on a novel hydraulic pump concept. The idea aims on a pump principle to be directly connected to highspeed electric motors to build compact highpressure drives [... aus der Einführung]

Pressure reducing valves perform various control tasks in mobile machines. In many cases contamination sensitive environments require pilot-operated valves, because of its more robust performance. On the other hand, dynamic valve behavior can be critically in certain applications. Overcoming the restrictions resulting from stand-alone test rig attempts, suitable simulation principles are nowadays the state of art in valve design. Unsuitable model approaches and missing consideration of the application may result in wrong design decisions. This paper discusses two important modeling issues, in particular the solenoid and spool leakage behavior, in combination with the connected system under control, a pressure-actuated clutch. It is shown, that even for standard proportional valves a critical view on customers´excitation strategy and site of installation decides on success or failure of an already used design variant.

All-wheel suspensions are generally challenging, particularly if they are equipped with an automatic level control. In mobile machines, the special application conditions make their use even more demanding regarding layout and control. A high center of gravity, load variations, off-road-conditions etc. require special measures to reduce roll and pitch movements. Additionally the uneven ground along with the mechanical suspension setup often create a need to measure and optimize tyre-to-ground forces in order to provide best traction and suspension properties. Hydropneumatic suspensions have all the potential to meet all these requirements and provide a comfortable, safe and efficient suspension setup.

This paper will give an overview about the technological change in Industrial Hydraulics and the impact of the Digital Twin on the related new engineering processes and methods in order to overcome the challenges coming out of that technology change. Simulation models will more and more become a decisive factor for the engineering process. The Digital Twin will be a window of opportunity for innovations and a technology push for the engineering process and the products in the Industrial Hydraulics.

Hydraulic displacement systems are a technology that has been known for many years. Nevertheless, the impression is created that the large fields of application are not only being developed very tentatively, but in many cases are being completely denied. What might be the reason for this? Are the electromechanical solutions better? What is the missing element to build the bridge from the available hydraulic-mechatronic technology to broad customer application? This paper provides an overview of how the targeted use of the latest technologies in the product and in the entire value-added chain has resulted in a complete mechatronic hydraulic system that pushes the limits of feasibility in terms of power, accuracy and efficiency and delivers a clearly calculable benefit for both the plant manufacturer and the end customer. In addition to the great accuracy and high reliability, there are also considerable savings in the total cost of ownership (TCO) due to a previously unattained level of efficiency. The thoughts of health and environmental protection are just as much a part of the considerations as product safety and personal protection. Finally, an outlook on possible expansions is given, and which areas of application are possible for the technologies developed within the project. The aim is not to show how the traditional fields of application of hydraulics are to be defended, but rather to use the strengths of a hydraulic-mechatronic approach in a conscious and clearly structured way to make new applications possible.