The Role of Sensors in Interfacing Hydraulic Systems with Microcomputers 871605

The hybridization (1) of fluid power and microelectronics control technologies has created a dilemma for practitioners of both arts. On the one hand, we have tecnologists who have long treated fluid power applications on a “brute force” basis and are unaccustomed to the apparent finesse associated with microelectronics which are revolutionizing control in their domain. And on the other hand, we have microelectronics technologists who know almost nothing about the power transmission capabilities of fluid power-many of whom do not even care about its role as a basic productivity technology. The fundamental interfacing problem is getting these two groups to communicate, because microelectronic control of fluid power systems appears to be the wave of the future. It is likely that standard hydraulic or pneumatic energy trandsucing (2) components, in the classic sense of the term, will be “tailored” to specific applications by microelectronic controls superimposed on the power devices.