Carry On: Fluid Power Keeps Pace with Material Handling

By温迪·吴（Wendy Wu），产品经理液压软管与耦合，欧洲工业，盖茨。

Material handling takes place at every stage of the supply chain. It involves the movement, storage, protection, and control of raw materials and finished goods. Fluid power is a close partner with material handling. Fluid power systems are often used for advanced handling applications involving complex sequences of motion control. That control allows for mechanical tasks such as rotations, lifts, turns, and conveyer operations, or extremely difficult tasks, like tunnel excavation.

优化材料处理和改善供给chain efficiency have been constant challenges, but their scope is shifting considerably. Acceleration of e-commerce adoption on a larger scale, increased customer expectations, the urgency of a green transition, and unexpected disruption of the supply chain ecosystem put additional pressure on both suppliers and buyers. Innovation is more critical than ever in supply chain management – and by extension, materials handling – for building resilience, tackling long-term challenges, and contributing to global CO2 emissions reduction targets.

从历史上看，当人们想到技术的破坏或采用时，物质处理并不是一个想到的行业。现在这是一个非常动态的领域。

What are the focus areas and priorities for keeping up with the changing technology of the material handling industry and contributing to its future developments? The answer is key for fluid power companies mapping their own innovation journey, as well as for equipment manufacturers choosing the right supplier. This article discusses major success factors of companies taking on challenges, grabbing opportunities, and thriving in new-age material handling.

Material handling automation

The speed of the material handling industry’s embrace of automation and emerging technologies in recent years has been astonishing, although it varies among subsegments. Automation technology is advancing fast and creating disruptive change in material handling for product manufacturers, retail businesses, e-commerce players, and end customers. With automated conveyors, guided vehicles, and storage and retrieval systems, along with tools like warehouse cranes, goods movement can be almost entirely automated. Furthermore, the advent of artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things have paved the way for a new era of robotic material handling.

工业自动化并不是一个新概念，流体功率具有几个有助于自动化制造运营的功能。流体动力设备可以保持恒定而稳定的压力，从而避免施加连续力时电动机的过热或故障。这种稳定的压力允许机械臂的平稳运动，例如举起和握住重物或用可控力握住物体。除了满足技术要求外，流体功率是许多自动化应用中首选的解决方案，尤其是当它比电力更经济时。

数字转换不仅意味着添加自动化。材料处理与高级技术（例如自动驾驶，区块链和AI）有关。数字技术正在重新发明设备，将其提升到新的用户体验，安全性和效率。
例如,产业界首次盖茨GC20卷缩机，，，，is supported by the Gates Cortex Intelligence automation platform. It offers real-time cloud connectivity and system integration, allowing operators of any skill level to intuitively crimp assemblies safely and error-free. Regardless of debates about the negative effects of digitalization, we are in a digitized economy and business environment. Digital transformation is of strategic importance to leading fluid power manufacturers and players diving into new segments.

A ‘culture of innovation’

The remarkable shift toward increased automation and digitization of material handling requires an accelerated adoption of technologies and adaptation to the trend. Introducing, implementing, and absorbing rapid changes in technologies can be challenging and complex. During the innovation journey, companies can fall behind simply because they do not fully understand the trend, they are reluctant to move, or they lack a system to support creativity.

驱动力是一种创新文化。它鼓励创造性解决方案满足客户需求，并确保产品，流程和服务的持续创新。
例如，盖茨公司（Gates Corporation）从历史上一直是创新的第一到市场，其中包括M3K恒定压力液压软管和Quick Lok无线无线式液压耦合。这种创新文化导致人们挑战了这些局限性，这是最近来自MXT和MXG系列的X系列液压创新证明的。在一个破坏性的时代，每个公司都需要成为真正创新的解决方案提供商。这不仅对业务增长，而且对幸存转型至关重要。

Material handling capability is a focal point for operations efficiency, supply chain optimization, and manufacturing productivity. Highly automated material handling systems significantly improve process efficiency. Major benefits also lie in their scalability and accuracy. They can be programmed to handle multiple tasks simultaneously, mitigating human mistakes and errors. However, system reliability is crucial to fully realize those benefits. Automated systems, in turn, have the ability to collect accurate data of operations and working conditions. This benefits new process and model implementation to improve system reliability, such as proactive maintenance service, which largely depends on condition-based issue prediction and data-driven activity.

Efficiency and reliability are inseparable because one requires the other for companies to increase profit and improve productivity. For components suppliers or producers of fluid power equipment, both efficiency and reliability need to be considered when it comes to equipment development and optimization. Innovation must be compatible with reliability, helping to eliminate or greatly reduce any risk for customers who are early users of innovative practices.

Fluid power applications can impact efficiency and reliability in several ways. To illustrate, consider how the Gates MXG 5K hose contributes to system competency and dependability. It is 25% more flexible than legacy hydraulic hoses. A more flexible hose makes it easier to get a flush mount at the manifold during installation, which reduces the risk of hydraulic fluid leaks. In dynamic applications, more flexibility means less power goes into moving the hose, so more power can be used for actual work. Tested to 1 million impulse cycles, the MXG 5K comes with an XtraTuff Plus cover that is both abrasion- and ozone-resistant, delivering long-lasting performance and reliability on the inside and the outside.

Most original equipment manufacturers find a simple solution to reduce downtime, mitigate risks, and tackle future uncertainty to increase the strength and longevity of the system. Premium-quality materials often equate to long-term durability and life. Selecting premium products is an effective way to attain product reliability and eliminate downtime in the field. High quality doesn’t mean high cost. Companies need to carefully evaluate the total cost of ownership, factoring in the original purchase price of the component, the installation time and effort, plus any maintenance costs during the operational life.

Long-term value

Mechanical reliability relies heavily on materials science and engineering, plus operating conditions and environment. When fluid power components – fittings, hose, and tubing for hydraulic or pneumatic systems – all come from the same manufacturer, it hedges against the risk of shutdown caused by incompatible components. The Gates MXT wire braid hose and Gates MegaCrimp couplings are qualified to work together as matched systems. When assembled per Gates specifications, they are warrantied to exceed 600,000 impulse cycles, which is more than three times the industry standard. A Gates customer in Malaysia faced a leaking problem in its logistics operations every two months due to mix-and-match hose and couplings. The company resolved the issue by selecting and using the Gates MXT series and validated couplings. The Gates engineering process pays strict attention to minimizing the number of components, which reduces the number of leak paths and offers optimal longevity, efficiency, and reliability.

虽然效率和可靠性提高是业务增长的主要重点，但要提高长期业务价值的可持续性是无法签名的。今天特别关注。在业务不确定性的背景下，它提出了新的挑战。在19日大流行后，由于需求的反弹需求，每个市场的能源价格都在上涨。预计全球供应链将在不断波动的情况下挣扎，并且很难预测积压何时结束。从长远来看，建立绿色供应链或材料处理系统的投资无疑会创造价值。

Material handling systems consume substantial amounts of energy over time. Electric consumption due to direct movements of products or materials by material handling is a macro-category in logistics chains. Obtaining and transporting energy is increasingly expensive. Energy savings are a strategic factor for many businesses, so the features of automated and robotic equipment they desire include energy efficiency and compact size.

就能量转化而言，气动和液压药是许多应用的有效解决方案。将压缩空气的能量转化为运动，气动执行器是高效的运动控制源。气动控制系统是经济的，可以有利地应用于其他形式的权力。在液压系统中，加压流体在长距离和复杂的机器配置上传输，功率损失很小。促进可持续性的一个重要贡献者是增加系统寿命，减少生产和退役的影响。

The leading trend in fluid power machinery is continuous improvement in product flexibility, compactness, and weight. Hydraulic hoses are a shining example; high flexibility helps achieve high efficiency, allowing for shorter assembly time and easier routing during installation. As examples, Gates MXT hoses (with braided high-tensile steel wire reinforcement) and the recently launched Gates MXG series hoses (with patented Xpiral woven spiral technology) are remarkably more lightweight – for improved fuel economy and longer time in the field before refilling – extremely more flexible, and much more compact compared to their premium legacy equivalents.

Sustainability dynamics

Smart material handling enables automated procedures that employ less energy, provide real-time operational visibility, and turn data into actionable insights. There is no denying that using renewable energy in industry and power generation is a trend, but this transition will likely take some time. So the quickest way to tackle an energy crisis is with energy savings, where the adoption of lighter components of equipment can play a big role. Forklifts are one of the most widely used pieces of equipment for moving and managing materials in a warehouse and are typically outfitted with over 10 meters (32 feet) of hoses. Large scissor lifts can have hundreds of meters of hydraulic lines on one application. Weight reduction brings considerable energy-saving potential and is important for building energy-efficient hydraulic system.

Every industry’s sustainable development relies on ecological sustainability. Fluid power is no different. There is still a lot to be done to accelerate the transition toward sustainability dynamics. Steps in that direction include the formation of standards and principles in the design of green fluid power systems and advocating for environmentally safe fluids. Players with far-reaching vision have invested more in products that lessen environmental impacts, mainly by reducing noise emissions, heat generation, and oil leaks and spills from fluid power applications.

盖茨是产品中环保材料的早期采用者。2003年，盖茨EFG软管系列推出了。“ EF”代表Envirofluid，表明该产品即使是最具侵略性的生物降解液压液，例如合成酯，多糖醇和植物油。流体动力的主要参与者超出了产品设计，可以实施节能制造实践，从而减少其生态足迹。比利时和泰国的大门设施采用太阳能来降低碳足迹。比利时设施为100％太阳能动力，产生高达739千瓦的峰（KWP）。泰国工厂每年可节省24,336千瓦时（千瓦时）。

最后但并非最不重要,不要忘记的人。作为companies progress to an era of highly automated manufacturing and distribution, the journey can be sustainable only when we prioritize people every step along the way. The design of fluid power systems, whether in manual or automated form, must consider improved ergonomics and mitigate the new health and safety risks for people who interact with robots in so-called cobotic environments. Highlighting attention paid to ergonomics during the design process, Gates fluid power products are lighter weight and more flexible for ease of installation and to help reduce stress and strain when handling.

Fluid power, material handling, and supply chain share key benchmarks: efficiency, reliability, and sustainability. Driven by components manufacturers, equipment and machinery OEMs, and industry organizations, fluid power innovation is essential for companies to cope with supply chain issues and win in the new reality. Advancements in material handling offer opportunities fluid power’s positive impact. Along with emerging technologies reshaping virtually every industry, material handling has fast become the objective for a steady, nonstop flow of goods, which prompts fluid power to accelerate along its road to innovation.

Innovation is a journey, not a guarantee for success. A truly innovative culture leads to sound strategy and a well-developed actions framework. Companies must identify their focus areas, coordinate efforts, and leverage sources to hurdle current obstacles and be ready to respond to future challenges.

• fluid power
• Gates
• hydraulics
• material handling
• pneumatics