Hydraulics is one of the key systems in ensuring that all movements run smoothly, relying on the most basic principles of fluid dynamics. Pascal's law, established in 1648, states that a change in pressure at any point in an enclosed fluid at rest is transmitted undiminished to all points in the fluid. This law continues to be the basis of all fluid technology.

Current market

Today, fluid technology is moving ever more towards digitalization with a greater need to reduce energy consumption and emissions. To face this challenge, all systems and components must be perfectly connected to offer end-users the opportunity to develop new business models. Sensors to measure pressure, flow, temperature, vibration and noise are key in fluid technology and for predictive maintenance.

Operators expect high productivity, high reliability, low total cost of ownership (TCO) and energy efficiency from ag machinery. To satisfy these needs, manufacturers are developing new solutions that also adapt to increasing energy prices and environmental requirements.

Future is electrification

Looking at the general agricultural machinery market, manufacturers are focusing more and more on electrification to comply with new emissions standards and save on costs. Bosch Rexroth has developed the next generation of electrified hydraulic systems contributing to increased energy efficiency and reduced fuel consumption as well as exhaust emissions. Electronic controlled pumps and motors for open and closed loop systems simplify the design and shift the variance into software, making it easy for manufacturers to adapt to certain requirements by changing set parameters.

Innovative condition monitoring

Through digitalization, each hydraulic component provides data to be used for self-optimization, diagnosis and status description in the larger picture of condition monitoring for ag machinery. Vehicle uptime largely depends on the right component design and timely maintenance and repair. From both an engineering and farming perspective, the importance of replacing guesswork with real prediction when it comes to maintenance is of utmost importance. Elaborate direct and indirect load cycle monitoring, trends, deviation and structural borne sound analysis and their correlation to component fatigue data are today's tools for precise and immediate insight into the current conditions of a machine.

Bosch Rexroth recognizes the potential and importance of condition monitoring and predictive maintenance and has developed their latest products to address these topics. “Electrohydraulics is the basis for upcoming developments like driving assistance, automated processes and condition monitoring of vehicles for predictive instead of preventive maintenance,” said Dieter Fetting, Vice President Sales and Industry Sector Management Agricultural and Forestry Machinery for Bosch Rexroth AG.

Danfoss has also developed a new condition monitoring and smart maintenance system, “Danfoss at Your Fingertips” which is a digitalized service for customers. When there is a problem, they can scan the product, receive a solution proposal and immediately order the replacement part.

Connectivity in hydraulics

Today, hydraulics are becoming more and more connected through sensors that come together for monitoring systems in machines, ultimately applying this technology to entire fleets. “The engineering procedures and their algorithms for connectivity support analytics to predict the health index and residual lifetime of mechanic (axles, gears), hydraulic (pumps, valves) and engine components. Besides the lifetime prediction for vehicles in operation that fleet managers will admire, these comprehensively pre-treated smart data sets also deliver to R&D departments much better real world specs for next generation vehicles departments,” stated Fetting.

Intelligent fluid and motion control technology and implemented sensor technology for data collection are created through the connectivity of all systems and components in hydraulics and are highlighted by the main theme of Systems & Components 2017 - “Connectivity – Stay with us, stay connected!”.

Agritechnica 2017 will be held from November 12-18 at Hanover's Exhibition Grounds. Agritechnica 2015, the world's leading tradeshow for agricultural machinery, saw more than 452,000 visitors and 2,892 exhibitors from around the world. More than 100,000 professional visitors and 700 exhibitors attended Systems & Components in 2015.

All information for visitors and exhibitors is available online at www.agritechnica.com.