Fluidic Drives in the Manufacturing Technology.

Numerous driving functions in manufacturing technology can be performed by hydraulic or pneumatic drives in particular in cases where short-cycle times, many functions which have to be performed all at the same time, or extreme load forces are the determining factors for the driving functions. Versatility of driving concepts continues hence to be of importance. It is therefore not surprising that fluidic drives have become a real high-techology field that offers specific solutions to each customer. New ideas such as improved control concepts, new switching systems and components of highest quality contribute to an extremely high capacity, favorable prices, and high availability. This paper describes the present state of development using examples from different fields of application.