Drip, drip, drip...

This article highlights that growing environmental and safety concerns, abetted by technology changes, are fueling a resurgence of water as a power transfer medium in hydraulics, where for years oil has been the fluid of choice. The shift has been gradual, but steady, after starting five years ago or more in Europe. In North America, progress has been slower. The traditional water hydraulics markets, steel and aluminum mills and auto assembly plants, have seen a little or no change. Water hydraulics is very attractive because it can be used for more than one purpose. It can turn a wheel, lift a load, or push something and, at the same time, provide fire suppression for an individual machine or an entire space. It can provide humidification to eliminate static electricity in a printing plant, or it can run a food processing plant during the day and become part of the clean-in-place system at night.