A trip through the former East Germany

A few years ago I was invited to a press tour by Bosch Rexroth, headquartered in Germany. I spent nearly a week with editors from four other US publications in a VW minivan driving across Germany. We had been invited to visit the Hannover Fair and tour of several manufacturing plants scattered across Germany. Bosch Rexroth conducted the event to bring us up to date on the merger between Mannesmann Rexroth and Bosch Automation Technologies. Naturally, we toured some of their manufacturing plants, but we also visited other facilities of some of their customers.
The Volkswagen headquarters and manufacturing plant in Wolfsburg employs 50,000 people. And even though some last-minute security issues kept us from touring the actual manufacturing areas, we were, nonetheless, presented with some interesting facts and figures. We also spent some time in their visitor’s center, which is designed as a theme park.
We also visited Koenig & Bauer AG, a manufacturer of printing machines in Wurzburg. We all are aware of how far computers and telecommunications have advanced over the last ten years. But I was completely unaware of how much the performance of printing has improved in the same time frame. Most of this is attributed to the electric direct drives that now power these machines. These new machines use a continuous web of paper that shoots through the machine at an astounding 12 m/sec (27 mph) while maintaining a printing resolution of 0.050 mm.
But what really blew me away was what I learned at EMAG Mfg. GmbH, in Salach, in the former East Germany. Some of the manufacturing methods they used were completely new to me, but the big news was their boost in productivity. Manfred Hekeler, the marketing communications manager, proudly informed us that the average turnaround to produce a typical vertical machining center was about five weeks. Then he mentioned that this was a dramatic improvement in productivity over what it had been prior to the reunification of Germany. How dramatic? Previously, it took five years to put out a machine! And he said that was pretty good; citizens generally had to wait 12 years for a new car. Needless to say, once your new car arrived, you went out to order its replacement the very next day.
Mr. Hekeler explained that under the old system of working for the government, there was no competition, so there was little incentive to improve productivity or quality. But it wasn’t EMAG’s fault. Their suppliers worked for the government too, so it was not uncommon to wait months for parts that should've been available in a few days. Nonetheless, once EMAG entered the free market, company officials quickly realized that in order to survive, they would have to upgrade their operations to world-class standards — and fast. They did, and my hat goes off to them. Their success is as much a tribute to their resourcefulness as it is to the value of the free-enterprise system.

Did Steve Jobs change the world?

Appropriately enough, my wife and I first got the news that Steve Jobs had died as an alert on her iPhone. Initial news reports mentioned how Jobs’ contributions changed all of our lives. At first I didn’t buy into this, but after just a little thought I realized there’s no denying it.
Computers first entered my workplace in 1985. They were actually dedicated word processors, but they were a huge leap forward from typewriters. I still remember seeing Macs on clearance at the local Sears store in the early 90s. The early versions all had a monochrome monitor, and when the new ones came out with color, the older ones were clearance priced at $1000. This was way out of reach for a guy with a growing family — especially for what was still considered a novelty. But I knew computers would be important for my kids, so I ended up buying a Commodore 64 system. It wasn’t a Mac, but it served its purpose.
A few years later we got our first MacIntosh computers at Penton, and I was thrilled. I marveled at how easy it was to do things. Pop in a disk, and an icon of a disk appears on the desktop. Double-click it to see what’s inside. What could be simpler? We learned how to use the Mac operating system in one short class. Later, we would often discover little tricks to do things quicker or make files more organized.
On the other hand, people in the “business side” of the office had IBM-compatible PCs. Their machines used MS-DOS, and they had to enter commands on a keyboard. Working on a PC became a lot easier when Microsoft Windows entered the scene. PCs with the Windows operating system cost much less than Macs, so Windows-based machines dominated.
The two different systems polarized most users into Mac people or PC people. But even PC people have to acknowledge the contributions of Steve Jobs. If it wasn’t for Apple’s easy-to-use operating system, Windows would be light years behind what it is now. Who knows, we might still have to type in commands from the keyboard. As big and powerful as Microsoft is, it has been forced to continually change Windows to try to keep up with Apple’s innovations. Unfortunately, changes aren't always improvements, so people sometimes choose not to upgrade their older Windows operating systems because of problems and incompatibility issues with the new ones.
But Jobs’ contributions only started with the Mac. The iPod has changed the way people manage their music collection. You may not have an iPod or use iTunes, but you probably listen to music on an MP3 player — even if it’s your phone. That leads to still another innovation from Jobs — the iPhone. Before the iPhone, smart phones needed you to use a stylus to select tiny icons from a tiny display. Today, of course, the touch of your finger lets you scroll though and select from dozens of icons for music, e-mail, video, and different apps of your own choosing.
Some people have even compared Jobs’ genius to that of Edison. I wouldn’t go that far, because Edison was an inventor, and Jobs was a visionary. But either way, they both changed the world.

Gone green to save money

One of my favorite early field assignments as an editor was touring a sugar factory in southern Florida. I was already in Tampa for my main project, so as long as I was in the area, I rented a car and drove down to Coral Gables, outside of Miami.
I met my host for lunch, had some Cuban coffee and fried bananas -- quite an experience. Then I followed my host to the sugar factory.
Stalks of raw sugar cane were delivered from the field and loaded onto a conveyor that transported the sweet stuff into the factory. The cane then went through a series of rollers that squeezed the juice out of the stalks. The juice collected in vats below and eventually found its way into a heater that turned the juice into syrup and, eventually, brown sugar.
The brown sugar was not food grade and was loaded onto trucks for transport to a factory for further processing into white table sugar. Oddly, brown sugar was made by adding molasses into the white sugar. Now I think companies divert some of the raw sugar into a process that makes it table ready.
Anyway, what I found most interesting about the sugar factory was its power management. After the juice is squeezed from the stalks of cane, residual juice still remains in them. This juice is a high energy fuel, so it is burned to produce electricity to run the plant. In fact, so much power is generated that the plant sells power back to the electric company.
So, ultimately, this plant may have had a negative carbon footprint (a term I certainly had never heard at the time) based on the surplus energy it produced. On the other hand, the emissions spewing from the smokestacks showed that the power generation was not the plant operators' attempt to go green, but to earn some greenbacks.

My take on the economy, technology, and the media

Back in 2009, Eric Knappenberger, from Smiley Hanchulak, conducted an interview with me for his client's e-newsletter, "Pumped Up," for Parker Hannifin's Hydraulic Pump Div. I had forgotten about this until I stumbled across it recently. Here's a link for those who are interested.

The interview took place in early 2009, but I still stand behind what's here. Unfortunately, though, I think I'm a bit more pessimistic about the long-term future of our economy in general.

I should add that since this interview was published, we have also added a LinkedIn group and FaceBook page.

Here's the text in case you don't want to follow the link:

Meet The Media:
Alan Hitchcox, editor,
Hydraulics & Pneumatics magazine

Pumped Up

For more than 60 years, Hydraulics & Pneumatics magazine has been a leading information source for designers and users of fluid power and motion control systems. PUMPED UP sat down with editor Alan Hitchcox to learn what a new year, new President and new media environment means to the hydraulics industry.

If President Obama follows through on his pledge for job creation and repair of the U.S. infrastructure, what impact will it have on the hydraulics industry?
ALAN: That’s a big “if.” Public construction projects have been carrying much of the hydraulics industry through a tough economy. Construction and repair of our infrastructure depends heavily on hydraulic equipment, and every hydraulic system needs at least one pump. However, I don’t see President Obama and Congress introducing spending programs massive enough to have a substantial impact on the hydraulics market in the near future.

How is the heavy equipment market shaping-up? What challenges will foreign competitors pose?
I think the weak global economy has tightened the money supply and made companies more cautious about capital expenditures, which could reduce the amount of heavy equipment being purchased. Plus, I think many companies have already purchased new equipment to head-off having to buy more expensive, higher-tier emissions equipment that meets stricter regulations. I look at the worldview as a threat and opportunity. Yes, offshore companies will continue to introduce more sophisticated machines and components that will threaten domestic manufacturers. However, I also believe that some of these countries — especially India — will become consumers. This could enable domestic manufacturers to set-up shop overseas to serve that demand.

Can companies like Parker locate and train the talent they need as conditions improve and the purchase of new equipment increases?
Yes, I think a large number of young people with bright minds will continue to be drawn to engineering, design and fields essential to the industry. I think we’ll continue to see an increasing number of these students coming in from overseas countries.

What innovation do you anticipate from the hydraulics arena in 2009?
I think we’ll continue to see more widespread application of hydraulic fan drives to make diesel powered equipment more fuel efficient. A weak economy and lower fuel prices may delay their introduction, but I think the value of hydraulic hybrid drives makes them inevitable for our future. As they become commonplace, continuing R&D will make them even more effective.

How will the pursuit of alternative energy solutions impact the hydraulics industry in the short and long-term? What risks/rewards do you anticipate for hydraulic system component manufacturers?
Hydraulics is widely used in many alternative energy systems. I think it’s an area for growth, but I don’t see it becoming revolutionary. I could see steady growth in the U.S., but I’m not sure it will offset some of the areas where hydraulics has been displaced by other technologies. I think it would be risky to invest too heavily in this or any single technology.

The demise of print media has been foretold for more than a decade. Will newspapers and magazines ever cease to be? How have your own readers’ habits changed in recent years and how have you adapted?
I’m a firm believer we should never say never. . . so yes, I do think that print media eventually will disappear, but not in our lifetime. Hydraulics & Pneumatics began embracing online content in 1996 when we launched our Web site. Five years ago we began offering readers the option of receiving their monthly issue in an online format. Less than 10% of our subscribers have crossed over, but I expect the percentage to steadily rise over time.
There’s no question that the online version makes it far easier to search for an article published years ago. However, most subscribers still value the portability and convenience of a printed magazine. It’s much faster to read a printed magazine than it is to view the same material digitally. And because we’re all so busy, I think the majority of people will continue to receive their regular dose of fluid power technology from the printed version of H&P.

Hydraulics & Pneumatics now hosts an online forum. Can social media in fact benefit the fluid power community in coming years?
Absolutely. However, I think many people tend to give too much credibility to information they learn on the Web and in blogs. This opens the opportunity for a plethora of misinformation. As people begin to realize the value of high-quality information, I think they will tend to rely more heavily on a few trusted sources rather than results from a search, unknown Web site or forum. This is the unwritten mission statement of our Web site: to be not only the most complete source of fluid power information, but to be the most accurate and reliable.
What I really like about forums is how they bring people together who might not otherwise have the opportunity to share ideas. For example, our forum is populated with mechanics looking for sources of components and advice on how to work on equipment. We also have electronics people hoping to learn more about hydraulics as well as experts who not only provide valuable advice, but also learn from others. For example, hydraulic systems for mobile equipment feature many design characteristics that differ from those used in automated industrial equipment. By sharing their techniques, forum participants are learning new techniques and expanding their knowledge to help make their jobs easier.

Useful iPhone app for tubing assemblies

I'm often impressed by the knowledge and skill of people who design and build hydraulic systems. The power and control capabilities of these machines is truly impressive, but some of the skill that goes into them looks like a work of art.

There's just something about an array of tube assemblies parallel and with elbows perfectly aligned. I've made a few tubing assemblies for my home's plumbing system, so I can appreciate the skill and expertise that go into cutting a tube to just the right length, bending it to a precise 90°, and assembling it into a perfectly (or in my case, less than perfectly) aligned assembly.

I just learned of a new tool that should make work easier for designers of tubing assemblies — a new iPhone app. Looks like it's quite useful, and it's free. Developed by tube bending machinery specialist Unison, the calculator lets users quickly and easily determine the tooling needed for performing a particular bending task on any type or make of tube bender. By simply entering the bend radius, tube diameter, and wall thickness (in metric or imperial units), users can instantly gain a clear visual representation of the type of mandrel and wiper die they will need to achieve a perfect bend.

Compatible with any iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad running IOS 4.0 or later, the tube bending tooling calculator will be regularly updated with new features and functions. Already under development are user-selectable tube profiles and material types — such as steel, stainless steel, copper, etc — that will allow machine-specific calculations, such as bending force requirements.

Version 1.0 of the calculator can be downloaded free of charge from Apple's iTunes App Store. Go to iTunes, click on App Store, then enter tube bending tooling calculator into the search window Users are also encouraged to sign up for free updates and to suggest future enhancements to Unison by emailing apps@unisonltd.com.

New iPhone app helps wth hydraulic calculations

A new iPhone app from In Situ Hydraulic Experts, a French hydraulic consulting company, is now available for download at the Apple Store. The app helps with unit conversions and equivalence values for hydraulic pumps, motors, and cylinders. It also helps you calculate motor and mechanical pump power.

As an example, fields are given for hydraulic pump technical specifications, such as displacement, rotational speed, volumetric efficiency, theoretical and actual flow, pressure, and hydraulic power. Users simply enter data, select calculate, and the app quickly displays solutions.

In Situ says this is the first of many fluid power iPhone apps it intends to release.

Visit the Apple Store here to download the app or visit In Situ for more details.

Hydraulic fluids from the rain forest

David Sundin, Ph. D., is a chemist and chemical engineer who’s a partner at SVB Environmental Lubricants, a Brazilian company that manufactures an environmentally friendly hydraulic oil from trees and other plants that grow in the Amazon rain forest.

I know, you’re probably thinking “Great, another company exploiting the world’s precious rain forests.” But as Dave points out, just the opposite is true. Dave says that among the raw materials that SVB uses are oils from nuts and seeds collected from various trees along the Amazon. The trees themselves are not harmed in any way. In fact, the market for plant-based hydraulic oil and other industrial fluids increases the trees’ value. Therefore, the trees are less likely to be cut down for less lucrative enterprises. Furthermore, Brazil’s government recognizes the economic value of this blossoming market, so it is getting involved to further protect the area from deforestation.

Dave says oil extracted from a particular part of a palm tree seed, for example, is extremely high in vitamin E. Vitamin E happens to be an excellent antioxidant, which gives the oil very high oxidation stability. Rapeseed (Canola) oil has generally been considered the best performing hydraulic oil derived from plants. But Dave says that the oxidation resistance of palm and other tree oils allow them to be used at higher temperatures and have a longer service life than is possible with rapeseed oils.

Furthermore, Dave says the wide variety of oils available in the Amazon area allows blending different oils together to make products with specific characteristics for individual applications. Using a single oil, on the other hand, usually requires enhancing the base oil with synthetic additives or processes to achieve the desired fluid properties.

However, hydraulic oil is just a small part of this new industry. Dave said the jatropha plant grows throughout the area and looks like a cross between a broad leaf weed and a grass, similar to bamboo. Its oil is toxic to humans, but it makes a great biodiesel fuel. Furthermore, because it is native to Northeast Brazil, it can be grown in areas unsuited for food crops, becoming a renewable and economical energy source. Greases and lubricating oils are also part of the family.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Dave says SVB’s hydraulic oils are already being used in oil rigs off the west coast of Africa and in the North Sea. These are extremely environmentally sensitive areas, and although caution is taken to avoid leaks and spills, the oils are almost completely biodegradable and don’t leave a sheen when spilled on water. However, if a spill does occur, operators don’t have to immediately go into panic mode.

What this means is that SVB and other manufacturers offer highly biodegradable, vegetable-based fluids that don’t require sacrificing equipment performance, reliability, or longevity. So I guess you could say we’re enjoying a bumper crop of environmentally compatible hydraulic fluids.
To view David's article, click here.