Home > Resources > Articles > Mission Critical Hydraulic Manifolds

Mission Critical Hydraulic Manifolds

A hydraulic manifold is a component which regulates fluid flow between pumps and actuators and other components in a hydraulic system. It is also known as “hydraulic integrated circuit” (HIC).

With a hydraulic system, the same fluid is circulated repeatedly from a fixed reservoir.  Hydraulic oils are relatively incompressible liquids. The actuators are easily controllable and accurate positions, speeds, or forces. The fluid used for most hydraulic systems are mainly mineral oil types, but other fluids such as ethylene, glycol, or synthetic types are also common.
Mission Critical Hydraulic Manifolds
Hydraulic systems have one central power unit which has hoses running to and from the outlets to perform various high energy functions. Hydraulic systems as opposed to pneumatic systems operate at higher pressures, generating a higher force from smaller actuators occupying less space consumption in a work environment.

There are challenges with hydraulic manifolds which illustrate the importance of experience and core engineer competencies. It is common for purchasing to select the least expensive quote, just like shopping various machine shops for other machined products. Hydraulic manifolds require that engineering work closely with the manufacturing team for design optimization. Purchasing is often looking at short-term cost savings rather than efficiencies achieved during assembly, operations, and maintenance.
Mission Critical Hydraulic Manifolds
Poorly designed manifolds often lead to complex and time-consuming processes during assembly and integration. Valve spacing, wiring for solenoid valves, and clumsy hosing are some of the obvious things that should be considered during design.
During operations pressure drop, loss of energy, and overheating are signs of design improvement opportunities for hydraulic manifolds. Pressure spikes often lead to component failure, manifold metal fatigue, and shorter seal lifespans which cause major system failures.
It is necessary to choose a manifold manufacturer who understands design and has a strong team of manufacturing and hydraulic design engineers. Only ISO9001:2015 certified suppliers can provide assured internal processes with a higher degree of quality product reliance.
Reviewing seal materials, material and finish, environmental conditions and temperatures, pressure (maximum and working), duty cycle, and flow conditions (pump, accumulator, and return) are some of the considerations in the design of a custom hydraulic manifold. Engineers must look at port sizes, types, and locations, number of and type of valves, electrical voltage and connection, as well as mounting.
From small mobile machines to heavy industrial plants, manifolds are mission critical to fluid power systems. Fluid power engineers and OEMs understand the benefits of properly engineered hydraulic manifolds. Nearly all hydraulic manifolds are engineered-to-order (ETO) to ensure improved overall layout with less cumbersome hoses and fluid connections. Depending on the application, a small and compact sized manifold with cartridge valve design to suit confined spaces may remove the possibility for an “off the shelf” solution.
With increased energy efficiency shorter flow paths minimize pressure drops reducing installation costs. Equally important in the ETO design process is the reduction of fluid leaks and upkeep. Often times this comes from fewer connections that can wear and loosen.
Mission Critical Hydraulic Manifolds
The best custom hydraulic manifolds require circuit integrity, design expertise, and manufacturing quality. The performance of any fluid power system is only as good as the level of expertise that produced it. The fluid power system relies on the quality of the manifold. OEMs in automotive, aviation, aerospace, and agricultural equipment mandate ISO certification and demand design and production teams to navigate the most difficult projects from design through production. These highly engineered solutions require experience to recommend design changes for both function and price optimization.
Choosing the right partner for manifold design leads to greater success and generates more revenue than creating a few dollars in cost savings.
About The Author
Nimit Patel, CEO of Hydraulic Manifolds USA, brings innovation to the manufacture of custom and standard hydraulic manifolds or HIC, Hydraulic Integrated Circuits. Companies with difficult custom design challenges rely on engineering teams who bring almost 50 years of experience.

Established 1971, as Selling Precision, the company grew steadily until relocating to its current state-of-the-art facility. In 2017, the company was rebranded as Hydraulic Manifolds USA, which more accurately reflects the global market presence as the leader in manufacturing custom and standard HIC units. ISO9001:2015-certified, the company has invested in the latest technology.

SPOTLIGHT

Hydraulic Manifolds USA

The team at Hydraulic Manifolds USA have been designing and manufacturing standard and custom hydraulic manifolds for over 45 years. Established in 1971 as Selling Precision, they rebranded in 2017 as Hydraulic Manifolds, USA to more accurately reflect our national industry presence. For almost half a century they have been pioneers in the hydraulic industry, providing products to both OEMs and distributors.

OTHER ARTICLES

Achieving Interoperability in an Industry 4.0 Factory

Article | February 11, 2020

As a part of the Industry 4.0 movement, factory engineers are increasingly adopting some form of industrial Ethernet to interconnect the machines and other equipment implementing their production processes. Ethernet has been around in multiple forms for over 40 years. Most of it serves the IT community by interconnecting PCs and other equipment to a company LAN. Because of its flexibility, Ethernet has been adapted to many industrial uses.

Read More

The Impact of Coronavirus on Electronic Manufacturing

Article | February 11, 2020

Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, is considered a crucial hub in the middle of China, a place of high importance for the production of automobiles, electronics, optics, and fiber optics. Wuhan and surrounding cities in the Hubei province are currently on a government-imposed quarantine at a scale the world has never seen before, some Chinese officials have referred to the situation as warlike.

Read More

Digitalizing Your Manufacturing Ecosystem

Article | February 10, 2020

Making digitalization work for you requires an understanding of your manufacturing ecosystem. Standards - such as ISA-95 - only guide you on a journey to more deeply comprehend the workings of your unique process for manufacturing your products. A batch manufacturing ecosystem often includes campaign management. Campaign management is not mentioned in ISA-95, which only speaks generally of order processing.

Read More

4 Food and Beverage Manufacturing Trends on Tap for 2020

Article | February 10, 2020

It’s the food and beverage industry’s job to appeal to consumer tastes by keeping tabs on what’s hot and what’s not. In the 1990s, for instance, fat free or reduced fat was all the rage, evidenced by the variety of products with such descriptions featured in bold typeface on cartons, cardboard and boxes. Fast forward to today, thanks in part to advancements in nutrition science, fat is back and is recommended in low-carb diets such as Atkins and Keto.

Read More

Achieving Interoperability in an Industry 4.0 Factory

Article | February 11, 2020

As a part of the Industry 4.0 movement, factory engineers are increasingly adopting some form of industrial Ethernet to interconnect the machines and other equipment implementing their production processes. Ethernet has been around in multiple forms for over 40 years. Most of it serves the IT community by interconnecting PCs and other equipment to a company LAN. Because of its flexibility, Ethernet has been adapted to many industrial uses.

Read More

The Impact of Coronavirus on Electronic Manufacturing

Article | February 11, 2020

Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, is considered a crucial hub in the middle of China, a place of high importance for the production of automobiles, electronics, optics, and fiber optics. Wuhan and surrounding cities in the Hubei province are currently on a government-imposed quarantine at a scale the world has never seen before, some Chinese officials have referred to the situation as warlike.

Read More

Digitalizing Your Manufacturing Ecosystem

Article | February 10, 2020

Making digitalization work for you requires an understanding of your manufacturing ecosystem. Standards - such as ISA-95 - only guide you on a journey to more deeply comprehend the workings of your unique process for manufacturing your products. A batch manufacturing ecosystem often includes campaign management. Campaign management is not mentioned in ISA-95, which only speaks generally of order processing.

Read More

4 Food and Beverage Manufacturing Trends on Tap for 2020

Article | February 10, 2020

It’s the food and beverage industry’s job to appeal to consumer tastes by keeping tabs on what’s hot and what’s not. In the 1990s, for instance, fat free or reduced fat was all the rage, evidenced by the variety of products with such descriptions featured in bold typeface on cartons, cardboard and boxes. Fast forward to today, thanks in part to advancements in nutrition science, fat is back and is recommended in low-carb diets such as Atkins and Keto.

Read More
MORE ARTICLE

SPOTLIGHT

The team at Hydraulic Manifolds USA have been designing and manufacturing standard and custom hydraulic manifolds for over 45 years. Established in 1971 as Selling Precision, they rebranded in 2017 as Hydraulic Manifolds, USA to more accurately reflect our national industry presence. For almost half a century they have been pioneers in the hydraulic industry, providing products to both OEMs and distributors.

Related News

Cordless hydraulic pumps

April 25, 2016

Enerpac is introducing to Australasia the versatility of either single or double-acting XC Series cordless pumps, which offer the performance capabilities of an electric pump with the convenient portability of a hand pump. Both types of Enerpac XC-Series cordless pumps actuate hydraulic tools as fast as a basic electric powered pump and create up to 700 bar (10,000 psi) of pressure. This means that XC-Series cordless pumps are up to five times faster than manual hydraulic pumps and up to two times faster than popular pneumatic powered pumps.

Read More

Cordless hydraulic pumps

April 25, 2016

Enerpac is introducing to Australasia the versatility of either single or double-acting XC Series cordless pumps, which offer the performance capabilities of an electric pump with the convenient portability of a hand pump. Both types of Enerpac XC-Series cordless pumps actuate hydraulic tools as fast as a basic electric powered pump and create up to 700 bar (10,000 psi) of pressure. This means that XC-Series cordless pumps are up to five times faster than manual hydraulic pumps and up to two times faster than popular pneumatic powered pumps.

Read More

Events

3DPrinting2023

Conference

3DPrinting2023

Conference