Technologies

The America’s Cup is the oldest trophy in international sports and the highest prize in sailing. Although it has a colorful history dating to 1851, America’s Cup wind-powered racing yachts certainly aren’t old school: the boats use advanced light-weight materials, the latest in nautical design, and aerospace control technology to skim across the ocean’s surface at speeds approaching 50 knots. That’s 55-plus miles-per-hour for landlubbers and the ultimate challenge for the 11-sailor crews that navigate the sophisticated yachts.

Parker is no stranger to the high-pressure competition that fuels the America’s Cup, having supported U.S. teams as an official partner during the last America’s Cup and supplying parts for decades. Following the announcement on January 7, 2019, Parker Hannifin is teaming with a New York Yacht Club-backed entry from the United States called “American Magic.” Parker is the official control systems partner to bring the trophy home to America’s shore in the 36th America’s Cup in 2021. Parker and the American Magic Team will work together to develop and implement state-of-the-art systems for the team’s racing boats. Leveraging a portfolio of proven aerospace and industrial technologies, these systems will enable the advanced yachts with precise control of the lifting surfaces and the wing required to produce optimum performance.

"Parker is honored to be a part of the American Magic team and to build on our long history with the America's Cup. The motion and control challenges that are presented by this latest generation of foiling yachts are significant and relevant to those that we see in our core business. The opportunity to partner with some of the most talented engineers and athletes on the planet in the crucible of a world-class competition is a recipe for technology advancement, and hopefully some American magic."

— Craig Maxwell, vice president and chief technology and innovation officer for Parker

Teams will be racing a monohull boat designed under the AC75 Class Rule, which defines the parameters within which teams can design a yacht eligible to compete for the 36th America’s Cup. In addition to shared weight, mast, and sail specifications, the AC75 boats will feature a 75-foot monohull with a T-foil rudder and twin canting T-foils. The objective of this design is to allow the boats to accelerate sufficiently that their foils elevate the hulls from the water to navigate above the ocean’s surface, reducing drag and increasing speed.

The AC75 is a “one-design” vessel, meaning that all teams’ boats use the same design for the main structural elements. The teams can innovate and gain advantage at the system levels of the boats. That’s where Parker Aerospace comes in.

Putting 100-plus years of engineering expertise to work and applying a broad range of core technologies, Parker will integrate its controls, hydraulics, and actuators into a key motion and control system that helps American Magic boats achieve stability as each lift onto its foils and accelerates.

According to Mark Czaja, vice president of technology and innovation with Parker Motion Systems, a wide range of Parker products and system-level expertise will help the American Magic boat perform at its highest level. 

“Working with the team's Official Innovation Partner, Airbus – with whom Parker already works closely on several commercial and military aircraft platforms – we are bringing advanced control technologies to the American Magic boats, refining the design of the control system and its components for the rigors of saltwater competition.”

— Mark Czaja, vice president of technology and innovation with Parker Motion Systems

The New York Yacht Club American Magic team has built a boat to half-scale of a race-ready AC75 design. The 38-foot boat—known as “the Mule” to its sailors, designers, and shore crew—has undergone testing in the waters of Pensacola, Florida. The shakedown runs serve to train the crew and provide system-level data that will influence the building of the first full-scale American Magic boat. The first AC75 yacht should be in the water by the end of August of 2019. Data gathered from the first boat will inform construction of a second one; either of the two boats can be used in the Challenger selection events and, ultimately, the America’s Cup.

The 36th America’s Cup match will take place in Auckland, New Zealand, in March of 2021. Prior to the America’s Cup, American Magic will compete in the America’s Cup World Series (April 23-26, 2020) and the Prada Cup Challenger series starting in January 2021. These races build toward the 36th America’s Cup over March 6-21, when the competition leader will earn the right to face current cup defender, Team Emirates New Zealand. But there is much to do before that for American Magic—and Parker—to prepare for the next edition of the America’s Cup.

We’ll be blogging throughout the run-up to the America’s Cup race in 2021, keeping readers posted on Parker and American Magic progress toward winning the cup for America.

To learn more about the New York Yacht Club American Magic 36th America’s Cup efforts, please visit the website. 

This post was contributed by Zack Cody, project lead and a member of the Parker Aerospace central engineering department. 

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The industrial manufacturing landscape is transforming against a backdrop of uncertainty. The shifts taking place globally in technology, advanced manufacturing, and government policy changes have created a moving target for manufacturers. This is causing many companies to be cautious. So, what’s an industrial manufacturer to do? To maintain or to create manufacturing competitiveness in our evolving landscape, companies must act now in making strategic investments essential for growth.

The good news? The ongoing focus by manufacturers on research and innovation is paying off for those who apply it strategically. For instance, the cheap labor of the 1990s is giving way to automation technology as the more important factor for manufacturing efficiency.

The not-so-good news? These opportunities are counterbalanced by a global manufacturing environment that is beyond challenging. Fluctuating resource prices, a shortage of tech-savvy talent and growing supply-chain and regulatory risks add to manufacturers’ unease, causing them to grow cautious when boldness is required to assure competitiveness.

Download our white paper Four Strategies for Assuring Your Company’s Manufacturing Competitiveness for an in-depth look into the emerging industrial manufacturing trends and strategies that you can employ today to create new market opportunities for your company. 

For industrial manufacturing companies looking to grow and succeed in our highly competitive marketplace, making an investment into four strategies creates a potential playbook to act upon.

There’s a technological renaissance that is transforming the look, systems, and processes of the modern factory, and it’s wide-ranging. From the Internet of Things and its 4th Industrial Revolution to additive manufacturing, industrial manufacturing is shedding its skin to become an entirely different entity.

Here are a few of the life-changing advances happening now:

The Internet of Things (IoT) is well on its way to creating the connected factory of the future. With the adoption and deployment of smaller, less costly sensors, the development of advanced analytics and the commodity storage options provided by the cloud, manufacturers can have wireless/mobile access to data globally - as well as anywhere on the plant floor – facilitating new levels of information monitoring, collection, processing, and analysis.

By expanding the power of the web to link machines, sensors, computers, and humans, IoT enables the data-driven insights and digital connectivity needed to adapt, add to or reinvent business models with the end goal of delivering higher-quality, more reliable products.

Yet there are risks to IoT adoption. Prime among them is the threat of cyber attacks by hackers determined to steal trade secrets and intellectual property. To create an inviolable factory of the future, manufacturers must rethink security standards and provide enhanced security during all phases of manufacturing from design to distribution – even after purchase.

How quickly must preparations be made for the connected factory of the future? IoT factories are predicted to be commonplace within five or ten years. Of course, it’s one thing to invest in transformative technologies when business is good – it’s another when business is off.

Then there's additive manufacturing technology, also referred to as 3D printing. Right now, 3D printing can spur innovation and reduce time-to-market through application to the product development/prototyping process.

While technologies that advance manufacturing are important to competitiveness, most manufacturers identify process improvement as key to company success. That equates to:

• Reducing production time,

• Achieving more operational flexibility, and

• Improving its equipment and layout both in and outside the factory.

To achieve these goals and meet evolving opportunities, companies need to automate, upgrade and streamline. Notably, the impact of automation on global manufacturing, particularly in the area of robotics, cannot be underestimated.

Propelled by advanced technologies and the increasing reliability and availability of data, manufacturing competitiveness is upending the factory status quo and creating a highly responsive and innovative global manufacturing landscape. Management must search out innovations that will affect the company’s bottom line. Yet innovations cost money, right? Companies looking to protect their bottom line are pursuing aggressive and proactive cost containment programs that embrace improvements in energy consumption, advances in logistics technology and new materials.

It’s taking manufacturers longer and longer to fill skilled positions - a situation that is likely to continue for the next 15 years. In fact, estimations are that there will be 2 million unfulfilled manufacturing jobs by 2025 in the United States. That means companies will need to act now in order to offset labor shortages later.

A few possible ways to alleviate the problem include:

• New technology training to upgrade the skill sets of current employees.

• Recruitment to attract the tech-savvy – otherwise known as millennials.

• Creating a culture where suggestions for improvements are welcomed and rewarded.

• Embracing an open-book management philosophy where employees see themselves as partners in the company.

Download the white paper Four Strategies for Assuring Your Company’s Manufacturing Competitiveness for details on these strategies, and the steps industrial manufacturers must take today to capitalize on new market opportunities that await.

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IIoT: Uptime and Efficiency Drive Predictive Maintenance Trends

When classic sealing materials – for instance in temperature ranges above 300°C and below -50°C – reach their limits alternative materials are required such as metal with appropriate coating/plating.

Parker offers metal seals made of stainless steel or nickel alloys in C, E and other designs characterized by high pre-loading force and significant resilience. Drawing on many years of experience in the gas turbine market, Parker has continually expanded its expertise in large diameters and developed special problem solutions that substantially increase the efficiency of the machines.

The most important manufacturing technologies used to produce metal seals from stainless steel or nickel alloys are rolling, forming, CNC machining, welding, heat treatment and coating/plating. In its more than 60-year history of producing metal seals, Parker has continually tackled the challenge of manufacturing increasingly large metal seals. Currently, spring-energized C-rings with a diameter of up to 7.6 m can be produced for which special forming machines and patented welding techniques were developed. They are supported by optimized special heat treatment and electroplating processes that make it possible to manufacture high-quality products even in such large dimensions. Additionally, Parker offers non-rotationally symmetric metal seals. These E-, O- and C-seals can be produced in lengths of up to 2.3 m on machines specifically developed for this purpose.

• C-seals: ≤ 3,000 mm
• Spring-energized C-seals: ≤ 7,600 mm
• O-rings: ≤ 1,200 mm
• E-seals:
  • Heat-treated ≤ 2,700 mm
  • Segmented ≤ 7,600 mm

The base materials used are special nickel alloys that withstand temperatures of more than 800 °C. These cobalt-nickel-chromium-tungsten alloys or heat-treatable nickel super-alloys make high demands on the welding technology used and are reliably processed at Parker due to optimized manufacturing processes and comprehensive suitability tests.
The choice of plating is primarily focused on wear protection, corrosion resistance and improvement of the sealing properties. For this purpose, the surface properties of the metal seal are modified and a formable external surface layer with adjusted hardness is created. Parker’s application engineering team will advise you in making the appropriate selection from the available plating range of gold, silver, nickel or TriCom® coating. 
 

• Power Generation – Sealing Solutions for Gas Turbines
• Chemical Processing – Sealing Solutions for Heat Exchangers
   

Website: XXL Size Seals and Molded Parts
Download Whitepaper: Large-Diameter Seals and Moldings - Material and Special Manufacturing Aspects
Download Brochure: XXL- Size Seals and Molded Parts - Powerful Solutions for Large-Scale Applications



 

Article contributed by
Thorsten Kleinert, business unit manager composite sealing systems
Engineered Materials Group Europe, Prädifa Technology Division

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Following new, more stringent Tier IV diesel engine emissions regulations, Rayco, an environmental equipment designer for the tree care and landscape industries, took the opportunity to develop a more efficient, powerful and compact stump cutter, the RG165T-R. In comparison to previous designs that utilized diesel engines, Rayco’s new stump cutter is centered around a powerful 165 HP gasoline engine.

As a result of the new gasoline design, the equipment’s envelope size was reduced and components were eliminated, such as, after treatment systems, diesel exhaust fluid and electronics. In addition to the robust gasoline engine, the RG 165T-R also packs a closed-circuit hydrostatic cutter wheel drive system that delivers full engine HP to the cutter wheel, completing every job in its path.

Stump cutting presents unique operating scenarios with each cycle. A pump and motor must be able to power through different obstacles at each job site. From technical support to high-quality hydraulic components to quick, on-time delivery, Parker enabled Rayco to develop its new industry-leading stump cutter. 

The initial RG165T-R prototype was created using the Parker Series F12 182cc bent axis motor, along with a competitor’s 90cc closed circuit pump. However, during initial rounds of testing, the competitor’s 90cc closed circuit pump struggled with performance and reliability issues, along with the potential for long lead times. 

When Rayco reached out to Parker applications team recommended an alternative - the compact, high-performance C Series 81cc hydrostat piston pump and promptly delivered a unit for testing. During subsequent testing of the Parker pump and motor combination, the team worked with Rayco engineers to dial in the performance.

By incorporating these two Parker components, Rayco engineers were able to exceed multiple performance targets. These targets included a 20 percent decrease in heat generation while increasing system efficiency by 10 percent over alternative test units. The C Series pump delivered excellent power density and paired perfectly with the 182cc F12 motor. The combination also translated into the optimal cutter wheel speed, which increased torque output to the cutter teeth by 10%. Another and unexpected benefit of the system was a tighter radius of the wood chips to the machine, resulting in less operational risk during the stump grinding process. 

Parker’s Hydraulic Pump and Power Systems Division has been designing pumps and transmission for over 50 years. The division is the result of the Parker piston pump business's acquisition of Denison Hydraulics and the merger with the Parker Oildyne Division. These two businesses combined have extended Parker's product offering to include the quality compact hydraulic products and systems the division has been pioneering since 1955. To learn more about the products, visit www.parker.com/hps or contact the team. 

Article contributed by Justin Wheeler, product manager, and Wes Jackson, application engineer for Parker Hannifin's Hydraulic Pump an Power Systems Division.

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For many of us at Parker, leading with purpose means identifying opportunities for making life better in the communities where we live and work. It acknowledges our strengths and aligns with our values, which also makes our work deeply personal, as a group of Parker China team members have experienced firsthand.

Poverty continues to be an ongoing struggle in many parts of rural China. So when a massive earthquake destroyed a primary school in the remote mountain village of Tianshui, Gansu in 2008, families in the neighboring communities had little hope of recovery.

The China Youth Development Foundation quickly formed a plan to rebuild damaged schools in the area and put out a call for help. The answer came from more than 2,000 kilometers and a day’s journey away. Working together, Parker China in Shanghai and The China Youth Development Foundation established The Parker Hannifin Hope School in 2009.

 "We believe that education is the root of eliminating poverty in China. So when we learned of the opportunity to help rebuild this vital resource, we felt it was our responsibility to help."

Joan Cai, admin officer, Parker China

On December 30th, in the southwestern city of Jiangxi winter was cold. On the same day, the Parker Hannifin Volunteer Team consisting of Liu Jianrong, Xu Linling and Gu Jianquan and the staff of the Jinqiao Management Committee of Pudong New Area arrived at this gathering of love-the "Light of Hope" poverty alleviation aid project. School——Mingde Elementary School, Jianchang Town, Nancheng County, Fuzhou City, Jiangxi Province. The team brought with them a "Love Fuel Bundle," items collected inside the company for the school, so that children can feel the warmth from thousands of miles away.

Located in Tianshui, Gansu along the Qingshui River in Western China, The Hope School provides kindergarten and primary education to students from neighboring villages. In the decade since Parker China began partnering with the Hope School, more than a dozen graduates have enrolled at high-performing universities across the country, including Hunan University and Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications.

And the partnership remains vibrant. Each year, team members from Parker China undertake the long journey to the Hope School to deliver gifts, build relationships and to help address the needs of the surrounding community.

Other team members routinely donate gift packages to the school and one even went as far as helping a Hope School Teacher put his daughter through University. Parker plans to establish five new libraries and three sports fields in collaboration with Project Hope.

"Everywhere you turn, there are stories like these. Our Parker team members find meaning and fulfillment in helping rural children learn, grow and thrive."

Joan Cai, admin officer, Parker China

Indeed, The Parker Hannifin Hope School is a shining example of what can happen when Hope meets Purpose. Learn more about Parker's Purpose and download our stories and videos.

Article and images submitted by the Parker China Team

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Traditionally, agricultural sprayer machines were custom-built on a four-wheel chassis. These custom-built units were heavy, expensive and not easily adapted to other farm applications. Sprayers are typically used to apply herbicides, insecticides and fertilizer. Naturally, it would be more practical if a machine that could be used for other functions – such as tilling, loading, and baling.

One manufacturer designed a retrofit using unconventional technologies which resulted in a three-wheel flotation spraying applicator. The new vehicle is less heavy, costs 20 to 50 percent less and is more versatile because it's designed to accomplish more than one function. The sprayer exerts lower ground pressure and more affordable than traditional machinery.

The three-wheeled commercial applicator was designed by retrofitting a mid-range (50 to 120 hp), two-wheel-drive tractor chassis with three major innovations:  

• Hydraulic wheel steering
• A suspension fork
• Flotation tires  
   

Tractors of this size generally have hydraulically assisted steering using a hydraulic cylinder and mechanical linkage assembly. In place of the typical front-wheel steering cylinder,  the manufacturer used a Helac helical hydraulic rotary actuator. Parker's Helac L30-65E-FT-180-S1-O-H rotary actuator produces a steering angle of up to 180 degrees and contains a bearing to support the load.  

The rotary actuator is a part of the steering super structure, providing the strength and flexibility the vehicle requires without unnecessary weight, complexity and maintenance required of mechanical linages. It supports a thrust load of 8000 pounds and accommodates 423,000 pounds per inch of bending moment capacity. It transmits 55,000 pounds per inch of steering torque when fully loaded. The L30 series actuator’s design makes it capable of angular displacement of 360-degrees or more.  

The tractor’s original-equipment hydraulic power unit supplies pressurized fluid for steering and other hydraulic functions. Maximum system pressure is 2950 psig with eight gallons per minute of flow but the steering function generally operates at pressure of 1500 to 2000 psig. The only modification needed to the tractor’s original hydraulic system is a higher displacement steering unit. This is because a rotary actuator requires more fluid to move the wheel through its entire range of motion than a cylinder does. The plumbing of the steering control unit is routed directed to the actuator, eliminating sections of hose and fittings otherwise required by the cylinder.  

Height and orientation of the sprayer boom are also controlled with hydraulics. A five-spool solenoid valve routes hydraulic fluid to and from cylinders that raise, lower, rotate, and pivot the prayer boom. Furthermore, an open-center motor, controlled by an electronic flow-control valve, supplies the driving torque to apply the fertilizer or other substance to crops. The retrofit package also includes a suspension style swing arm fork with twin air springs capable of supporting loads to 8000 pounds above the front tire. The air springs’ pressure is adjustable for different loads for smooth riding in the roughest of field conditions. The manufacturer supplied an electric air compressor to generate the pneumatic power for raising pressure in the air springs. The fork’s open front allows for easy access for changing or repairing the front tire. The fork is 50 inches wide, allowing use of huge, 44.00-inch tires for the maximum flotation and the potential for ground pressure as low as four psig.  

The cutaway above shows initial position of piston and output shaft. Pressurized fluid entering the inlet port pushes on the piston; a stationary ring hear causes the piston to rotate clockwise. At right, teeth on the output shaft mesh with those on the ID of the piston, causing the shaft to rotate clockwise relative to the piston. Pressuring the B port returns the piston and shaft to their initial positions.

The actuator used for steering and load support is Parker’s Helac L30-65 actuator. This actuator not only provides a simpler, less expensive structure than alternative designs but also can generate the high torque needed to steer such a large wheel assembly under full load. Previously the manufacturer used steering cylinders, bearings and multiple joints before designing in the sliding spline actuator. With cylinders, all the external moving parts were exposed to the elements. The stress on the joins was high because each steering cylinder had a clevis pin at each end. Stress concentrated on each pin created high wear points, which increased maintenance. Worn pins also allowed side loads to be transmitted to the piston rod. This accelerated wear on the rod and piston bearings increased the occurrence of seal leakage.  

The actuator used in the manufactuer's sprayer retrofit is composed of three basic parts: a housing, a central through shaft and an annular piston. Helical gear teeth on the shaft mesh with matching teeth on the inner circumference of the piston; a second set of helical teeth of opposite hand on the outer circumference of the piston engage the housing’s integral ring gear. The double helix gear design works to compound shaft rotation. The rotation of the shaft is almost twice that of the piston. The result is a slender, compact, symmetrical design that generates high torque, is highly tolerant of shock loads, and has none of the house protrusions found in alternative designs.

Characteristics of the helical rotary actuator make it ideal for applications requiring high torque within a small envelope, attributable, primarily, to its sliding-spline operation. Because all spline teeth remain engaged at all times, loads are equally distributed over the teeth. This results in high tolerance to the stock loads. Backlash is minimal – approximately 1°. Furthermore, the integral bearing design enables the actuator to support heavy radial, moment and thrust loads without the need for additional, external bearings. The integral bearing design also produces a clean, compact assembly for a wide variety of applications, including construction and mining equipment, refuse cart dumpers – anywhere compact size, high torque, and wide angle of rotation are needed. Aside from the inherent compact size of the actuator, the integral bearings and large drilled-and-tapped mounting holes make it easy to design the actuator info a structure and simplifies installation.   
 

The manufacturer significantly benefited from switching to Parker’s Helac rotary actuators in three distinct ways:

• The load bearing and steering capability was integrated into one package: Parker’s Helac actuator allowed the manufacturer to replace multiple external components and operate as a complete steering and bearing system in a single rugged component.  
• Low maintenance and zero leakage: Bearings, seals and torque-generating splines are completely sealed and lubricated by the hydraulic fluid inside the actuator housing, resulting in low maintenance and zero leakage. 
• Compact design and simple installation: Bolts are used to mount the feet of the actuator directly to the modified tractor frame.  The tractor’s steering yoke attaches directly to the top and bottom threaded bolt circles of the actuator’s load-bearing shaft.  

Parker’s Helac actuators offer a compact package that provides all the support for the load as well as the hydraulic turning needs without adding unnecessary weight. Seal leakage is eliminated and there are fewer maintenance issues since all moving parts are safely enclosed in a cylindrical envelope. Visit www.parker.com/cylinder for more information about Parker’s various actuators. 

Five Ways Quickfit Oil Change System Can Increase Your Equipment ROI - IFPE 2020 logo - Parker HannifinTo learn more about Parker’s off-road machinery solutions stop by Booth #S80245 at IFPE/CONEXPO-Con/AGG in Las Vegas March 10 – 14.

Article contributed by Dan Morgado, applications engineer, Parker Hannifin's Cylinder Division.

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