From the President’s Desk

Rick Lindemann

Greetings All:

I hope this message finds you well.

Summer is fading fast, and some of us are experiencing the “Dog Days of Summer” – hot, humid, no rain, too much rain, – others, not so much. Whichever you are experiencing, hopefully it’s been a great summer.

I’d like to share with you one of my favorite quotes from Albert Einstein:

Recently we were having a discussion regarding sizing heat exchangers for hydraulic systems that would occasionally experience extreme temperatures.

Conventional wisdom says to size your cooling for worst case scenarios, therefore when that extreme situation occurs, you are prepared for it. Makes sense, right?

Or does it? What if the extreme temperatures only occur 10% of the machines normal run time. Basically, your cooler is oversized for 90% of its operation. The added cost, size and energy consumption is unnecessary most of the time.

With that thinking, we are looking into an auxiliary or trim cooler to cover the 10% peak demand. We are still crunching the numbers, but we think the initial investment may be similar, but the long-range energy cost and space savings will be worth the effort.

One more example:  I met with a supplier that manufactures self-contained electro-hydraulic actuators. Basically, it is a servo motor driven hydraulic system. Again, conventional wisdom says, build a power unit, install directional controls, flow controls, etc. and run pipes, tubes, or hoses to the actuator. You could get a little crazy and install proportional valves and control it electronically.

What if you could mount the power unit and controls to the actuator and run a single cable to it? No plumbing and potential leaks to deal with. No hydraulic tank to service and keep clean, and so on. What if you could achieve precision accuracy and speed without the complaints of traditional hydraulics? Heat, noise, leaks, etc.

Will it fit every application? Absolutely not. However, thinking about it differently may lead you to discovering a new way to skin the cat.

As our industry changes, we can no longer lean on “The Rule of Thumb.” We need to utilize a new way of thinking to stay relevant in an ever-changing world.

‘Till next month.

Best Regards,

Rick Lindemann