Faculty of Practice: Haytham Yassin

TA: Mentallah Soliman

Fundamental Principles
 Most industrial processes require
objects or substances to be moved
from one location to another, or a
force to be applied to hold, shape or
compress a product.

 Such activities are performed by

prime movers, the workhorses of
manufacturing industries.
Fundamental Principles – Prime Movers

 Prime mover in science and engineering is a machine

or component that converts energy from an energy
source into motive power.
Fundamental Principles – Power
Systems
Power Systems

Power
Mechanical Electrical
Fluidics

Hydraulics

Pneumatics

 In practice, most applications actually use combination of

the three methods to achieve the most efficient overall
systems.
Fundamental Principles - Pneumatics

 Pneumatics (from Greek pneuma ‘wind, breath’) is a

branch of engineering that makes use of gas
or pressurized air.

 Pneumatic systems are systems that use gas or

pressurized air to move cylinders, motors or other
mechanical parts.
Fundamental Principles - Pneumatics
 Pneumatics applications are relevant
to a wide variety of industries,
including:

 Transportation: Air brakes for trains

or buses, air engines and compressed
air-powered vehicles

 Healthcare: Dental drills, vacuum

pumps and pressure regulators

 Construction: Pneumatic
jackhammers and nail guns

 Home Systems: Heating and air

conditioning control
Fundamental Principles - Hydraulics
 Hydraulics: is the branch of science and
technology concerned with the conveyance
of liquids through pipes and channels,
especially as a source of mechanical force or
control.

 Hydraulic systems use the pump to

push hydraulic fluid through the system to
create fluid power.
Fundamental Principles - Hydraulics
 Hydraulic applications are relevant to a wide variety of
industries, including:

 Hydraulic Lifts.
 Hydraulic Brakes.
 Hydraulic Steering.
 Hydraulic Jacks.
 Airplanes
Fundamental Principles - Hydraulics

 Press applications
 Steel works

 Steel works

 Hydraulics for machine

tools applications
Fundamental Principles – Power System
Comparison
 Task Required:
lift a load by a distance of about 500 mm. Such tasks are
common in manufacturing industries.
Fundamental Principles – Power System
Comparison
Electrical System:
 Solenoid
 Max stroke limited to 100mm
 Limited holding Force
 DC Motor
 Convert from rotation to linear (worms
crews or rack and pinions).
 Speed control (tachometer)
 Monitor end positions (avoid stall)
 AC Induction Motor
 Convert from rotation to linear (worm
screws or rack and pinions).
 Speed control (variable frequency drive)
 Monitor end positions (avoid stall)
Fundamental Principles – Power System
Comparison
Hydraulic System:
 Hydraulic cylinder,
Directional control valve,
Pump, pipes
 Accurate position & speed
control
 A 4.2 cm diameter piston
lifts a load of 2000 kg
 System is slow compared
to other technologies
 Leakage problems
 Heavy & expensive system
Fundamental Principles – Power System
Comparison
Pneumatic System:
 Pneumatic cylinder,
Directional control valve,
compressor, pneumatic
tubes
 A 16 cm diameter piston is
required to lift the 2000
kg load
 Good position & speed
control
 System is fast compared to
other technologies
 Leakage problems
 Simple, robust & cheap
system
Fundamental Principles – Power System
Comparison

 Your are required to make comparison between

Hydraulic, pneumatics & electrical systems
Fundamental principles – Advantage of
fluid power
Pneumatics Hydraulics
➢ Clean ➢ Accurate positon & speed
control
➢ Fast
➢ Multiplication of Forces
➢ Overload Safe
➢ Constant forces & torques
➢ Inexpensive for Individual
Components
 Fundamental Principles – Drawbacks of
fluid power  Hydraulic oils are messy, and leakage is
impossible to eliminate completely.

 Hydraulic lines can burst and might result in

injuring people and damaging surrounding
objects.

 Prolonged exposure to loud noise can

This injury is a result of placing the damage hearing.
hand in front of a jet of leaking
hydraulic fluid at around 180 Bar  Most hydraulic oils can cause fires if there is
a leakage.

 Compressive air for pneumatic systems can

be dangerous if the pressure is too high.

Hose/pipe whipping
Differences in Symbols
Symbols Reminder

Hydraulic Pump Compressor

Pumps and Motors
differ only by filling in
the direction arrow or
leaving it white.

Supply and Pilot

arrows are also filled
in or left white.

Hydraulically Actuated and Pneumatically Actuated

supplied 3/2 Pilot Spring and supplied 3/2 Pilot
Spring
Differences in Symbols
Cylinders and other actuators also differ with respect to supply and direction
arrows.

Hydraulic Double Acting Cylinder Pneumatic Double Acting Cylinder

Many symbols do not change, for example the Filter symbol.

Hydraulic Filter Pneumatic Filter

Remember however that the physical construction is completely different.

For example, hydraulic filters can be either Suction Strainers (suction side of the
pump), Pressure Filter (pressure side of the pump) or Return Filter (in the return
to tank line). Each filter requires different properties.
Differences in Symbols
Hydraulic valves have a crossover to Tank.

Pneumatic valves tend to have two

Exhaust outlets to Atmosphere.
Differences in Pressure and Force
Pneumatic Pressures and Forces
➢Produced at 10Bar
➢Used at 0~6 Bar
➢Forces up to 5000Kg

Hydraulic Pressures and Forces

➢Produced and used at 200~400Bar
➢Forces up to Thousands of tonnes

Force

Area

Pressure
Differences in Construction
Production
The hydraulic Power
Pack contains the
Pump, Tank
(Reservoir), Filters
and commonly a
Relief Valve for
protection of the
system. The unit is
usually local to the
machine that is using
it.

The Pneumatic
Compressor
installation usually
includes a Dryer
and Receiver. The
unit is usually
remote from the
machine that is
using it.
 Differences in Construction
Valves and Actuators
Pneumatic valves and actuators are generally
of light construction as they need to deal
with pressure up to a maximum of 10 Bar.
The cost of these components is cheap when
compared to the much more heavily
constructed hydraulic components.
Hydraulic valves and actuators are much more
heavily constructed than pneumatic components.
This is because the components must deal with
pressures up to 400 Bar+. Hydraulic actuators can
be very large when compared with common
pneumatic actuators. Hydraulic components are
much more expensive than standard pneumatic
components. A standard hydraulic DCV is in the
region of hundreds of Euro, a standard
application pneumatic valve would typically cost
tens of Euro.
Differences in Construction
Hoses, Pipes and Connectors

Hydraulic hoses and Fittings

Hose
connectors are heavily (Connectors)
constructed to hold the
higher pressures.
Rubber hoses are steel
Reinforced (Braided)
to Strengthen them. Braid
(Reinforcement)

Pipe Fittings
Pneumatic Pipes and
(Connectors) Fittings are of light
construction.
Straight Pneumatic Pipe is
Coupling Y made from nylon and
generally connects to
the fittings using
‘Push Fit’ connectors.
Tee
Differences in Application
Hydraulic systems are
used where large forces
are required such as in
earth moving equipment,
heavy cutting, Pressing
and Clamping

Pneumatic systems are

used for relatively light
moving, Clamping and
Process operations
Simple Application Example
Hydraulic

DCV

Filter

Tank
Simple Application Example
Pneumatic

Actuator
Electro-Pneumatic and Hydraulic Systems
Control of Electro-Pneumatic and Hydraulic systems using Electrical control
systems is similar for both media types.
Both systems would use Solenoid actuated valves, either Directly Actuated or
Indirectly Actuated.
An Electronic system would commonly incorporate Push Button Switches
(for human input), Reed Switches (to detect cylinder position), Proximity
Sensors and Photocells (to detect machine/component position).
An Electronic system would also commonly incorporate Relays and computer
controlled systems such as Programmable Logic Controllers.
Electro-Pneumatic and Hydraulic Systems
Reed Switch
Proximity
Push Button Sensor
Switch

Programmable
Logic
Controller
(PLC)

Relay
Solenoid

Solenoid