Back by popular demand will be a full day of pre-conference workshops* on May 13, presented by MSOE and the International Fluid Power Society (IFPS). New this year will be IFPS certification testing.

*Requires Separate Registration

Fluid Power Basics Workshop

MSOE’s Tom Wanke will once again be offering his “Fluid Power Basics Workshop.” This introductory level workshop will cover the benefits and challenges of using fluid power systems for power transmission and motion control. Physical laws that govern how and why fluid power systems function will be discussed. Individual components that comprise a fluid power system; including design, construction, operational performance and efficiency characteristics will be presented. ISO symbology used for representing individual components will be covered. The workshop will conclude with a brief overview of circuit architectures.

Wanke is the Director of the Milwaukee School of Engineering’s Fluid Power Industrial Consortium and Industry Relations. He’s one of the industry’s most popular trainers, with more than three decades of fluid power courses to his credit.

Advanced Hydraulics Mashup

IFPS’ Tom Blansett will once again present an eight-hour long course, Advanced Hydraulics Mashup, in which he will cover the following:

• Systemic Contamination Control— By evaluating an entire hydraulic system and its duty cycle, it is possible to systematically select the type and placement of contamination control components to enable a more reliable and cost-effective solution to avoid system downtime. Contamination control will ensure that the maximum life for components is achieved as long as the components are operated within manufacturer’s specified operating parameters.
• Pump Controls— Pump controls will be addressed as to the theory of operation along with some examples when a specific type of pump control is more appropriate to utilize than other available options to maximize energy efficiency. Along with common pump controls such as pressure compensation, load sensing, and torque limiting, less understood control options such as constant tensioning and electronic displacement controls will be explained.
• Proportional Control Theory / PID Control— Proportional, Integral, and Derivative (PID) control theory is explained and how this relates to tuning an electrohydraulic system for maximizing accuracy of control. A thorough understanding of PID control is essential to operating a system with high cyclic rates to minimize instability issues.
  Blansett, CFPS, CFPAI is the technical director for the IFPS. He has been working in the fluid power and motion control industry for almost 40 years. Blansett has contributed as a subject matter expert on numerous IFPS technical subcommittees and has been a technical consultant for the IFPS. He holds the Fluid Power Specialist (hydraulics and pneumatics), Industrial Hydraulics Technician, and Connector & Conductor Certifications; he is also certified by the IFPS as an Accredited Instructor and Authorized Job Performance Proctor.

IFPS Certification Testing

Finally, IFPS will be offering all of its certification tests, including:

• Specialist – Electronic Controls Specialist (ECS)
• Hydraulic Specialist (HS)
• Pneumatic Specialist (PS)
• Mechanic and Technician tests (MHM, MHT, IHM, IHT, PM, PT) both written and job performance

Candidates should register at www.ifps.org/certifications-offered. There, they should select the certification they are interested in. Once a certification is selected, the candidates should use zip code 53202 and test date May 13, 2019 when selecting Test Location & Date on the Test Application.