Hydraulics have the power to control

The latest generation of hydraulic systems provides an effective alternative to other forms of motion control.

As a technology, hydraulics is widely used throughout the mobile and off-highway industry, providing a unique range of benefits in numerous high-power, high-pressure, or high-precision applications. In recent years, however, the position of hydraulics as the principal technology for moving, positioning, and braking systems on forklift and refuse trucks, construction equipment, and commercial vehicles has come under pressure from the development of new and increasingly low-cost pneumatics and electromechanical systems.

Although much of the focus in recent years has been on the development of electromechanical products and systems, there have been similar changes in the evolution of hydraulics that are allowing power densities, cycle times, and machine reliability to be significantly improved, while making it even easier to construct effective interfaces between hydraulic systems and higher-level control devices.