Hydraulic

Playfully understand the hydraulic system!

To maximize the fun of playing with the construction kit and to promote understanding of the technology behind it, the most important information is clearly provided here. In order to cover more detailed explanations and even more topics of hydraulics, we also offer an accompanying didactic booklet for download below.

Definition

The word Hydraulics originates from the ancient Greek words “hydro” and “aulos” and means “water” and “pipe”. Thus, hydraulics stands for the science of the flow behaviour of liquids. Hydraulics is all about pumping liquids to and fro in a closed circular flow and to perform mechanical work in this manner.

A bit History

During the 18th century, the Englishman Joseph Bramah invented the first hydraulic press powered by water pressure, which worked according to the hydrostatic law by Blaise Pascal. The so-called Bramah Press worked such that a piston was pressed and the resulting power was multiplied. Joseph Bramah pressed down the piston of a water-filled cylinder with a lever and with less effort. The resulting pressure on the water was then passed on to other cylinders and was thereby strengthened. At the end, an object with great power was compressed.

Hydraulics are considered to be powerful, precise and efficient - Why is hydraulics so popular in construction and agriculture?

The benefits of hydraulics are

Pressurised liquids can be stored
Pressurised liquids can be transported over long distances without great pressure loss
The pressure on liquids is maintained for a relatively long time and hardly changes
No power is lost during any movements
Hydraulic cylinders help to make many movements without elaborate mechanism
A high positioning accuracy can be achieved
It is possible to generate high powers and torques
Uniform movements can be made easily

We would like to illustrate these benefits and lots of other interesting information with the PROFI Hydraulics construction kit. In addition, we would like to show you how hydraulic components function. For this purpose, we will give you a step-by-step explanation on the individual components and will show you how they function. Moreover, the construction kit contains numerous model cases that show the method of using hydraulics.

Generation of movement

To create movements with liquids we use hydraulic cylinders. The blue piston rod is movable and the cylinder is sealed. If water is forced into the cylinder through one of the two hose connections, the piston rod moves. The connection used to extend the piston rod is called connection A, and the connection used to retract it is called connection B.

Fluid pressure generation

The pressure of the fluid in hydraulic machines is generated by a hydraulic pump.In the models of the PROFI Hydraulic kit, the pressure is generated by pressing down the control cylinder. This is a simplified hydraulic system.

Fluid storage

In large machines, hydraulic oil is stored in reservoirs or tanks. In our case, the hydraulic fluid consists of water and is stored in the hoses.

Fluid distribution

In hydraulic systems, the path of the fluid, controlled by valves, is directed through different hoses to reach the working cylinder to be moved. The models of the PROFI Hydraulic kit do not need valves, because a control cylinder is always directly connected to each working cylinder. This is a simplified hydraulic system.

didactic materials