External resources and information

Fluid Power Journal is the official journal of the US International Fluid Power Society http://fluidpowerjournal.com/

Fluid Power World – US based publication on fluid power https://www.fluidpowerworld.com/

Hydraulics and Pneumatics – US based publication on fluid power http://www.hydraulicspneumatics.com/

Hydraulics and Pneumatics – UK based publication on fluid power http://hpmag.co.uk/

Machinery lubrication is a well-respected publication, written by training organisation Noria about lubrication and oil analysis to aid machine reliability, http://www.machinerylubrication.com/

Hydraulic Supermarket, founded by Brendan Casey, is based in Australia. Brendan writes a very popular newsletter, numerous books and runs training seminars followed by Fluid Power Engineers all over the world. https://www.hydraulicsupermarket.com/

Trade associations are generally an excellent resource for finding local training schools, information on industry standards and lists of members grouped by products they supply. Many training schools offer fluid power qualifications accredited by their local trade association ranging from an awareness level right up to complex hydraulic system design and maintenance.

CETOP is the European Fluid Power Committee. CETOP is the abbreviation of Comité Européen des Transmissions Oléohydrauliques et Pneumatiques. This is an excellent starting place to find all other fluid power related trade associations in Europe. See: https://www.cetop.org/

The British Fluid Power Association http://bfpa.co.uk/ publish a list of British training suppliers, see https://bfpa.co.uk/training/suppliers/ the largest of which is the:

The National Fluid Power Training Center (NFPC) is based in the UK and offers a very wide range of short courses on ‘Integrated Systems Engineering’ including CETOP certified courses. It assists more than 25 sectors of Industry for those involved in the maintenance and management of fluid power systems. It is probably the best equipped hands-on fluid power training facility in Europe, http://www.nfpc.co.uk/

The National Fluid Power Association (USA) is the principle fluid power association in the USA, see http://www.nfpa.com/

The NFPA publish a comprehensive list of fluid power training establishments in the USA, see http://web.nfpa.com/education/learningresources-trainingprograms.aspx

One centre the author knows well is MSOE, Fluid Power Institute, based in Milwaukee, WI, USA, see https://www.msoe.edu/academics/how-we-teach/labs-and-research/engineering/fluid-power-institute/

The International Fluid Power Society (HQ in USA) offers a comprehensive range of certified fluid power courses including online training courses http://www.ifps.org/

Many companies are now placing increased emphasis on competency based training which involves third party assessment of both knowledge and practical ability. The International Fluid Power Society (http://www.ifps.org/) is the main organisation in North America to offer certification  while CETOP (https://www.cetop.org/) offer a similar process in Europe. In the UK, the BFPA has recently introduced a ‘Training Passport’ scheme for individuals working in the fluid power industry which documents their training achievements.

Because hydraulic systems are applied to such a wide range of different machines, industries and applications a user might prefer a bespoke course tailored to their needs. In this case it is worth approaching one of the large training establishments listed above and asking them to develop a machine-specific course.

Alternatively, search for a specialist company via your local trade association. Such companies often design, maintain or build hydraulic machinery for their customers and offer bespoke training as an add-on. An example of this is Bachy Soletanche ( http://www.bacsol.co.uk/ ) in the UK who are a leading geotechnical specialist within the field of foundation and underground engineering. They operate a large fleet of drilling and boring machines made by many different manufacturers. Their training courses reflect the specific knowledge needed to maintain the hydraulic equipment on these machines.

In the USA, companies such as GPM Hydraulic Consulting Inc. (https://gpmhydraulic.com/) also supply a range of standard and bespoke training courses  as well as providing troubleshooting and reliability consulting services.

Engineer’s reference guide, a host of useful formulae, white papers, and conversion factors related to hydraulics, compiled by Webtec, see https://en.webtec.com/education/

Useful hydraulic hints and troubleshooting guide, written by EATON, see http://www.eaton.com/ecm/groups/public/@pub/@eaton/@hyd/documents/content/ct_233701.pdf

English language Engineering forum with section on Fluid Power http://www.eng-tips.com/threadminder.cfm?pid=1083

Useful guidance on contamination available as an e-book, see Fluid condition monitoring handbook written by MP Filtri https://www.mpfiltri.co.uk/condition-monitoring-handbook-download/

Useful guidance on hose & couplings, written by Gates, see http://www.gatesaustralia.com.au/~/media/files/gates-au/hydraulics/catalogues/safe-hydraulics-manual-us-2009.pdf

Insane hydraulics – forum on hydraulic circuit design http://www.insanehydraulics.com/index.html

Engineer’s Handbook, with some formulae for fluid power http://www.engineershandbook.com/Tables/fluidpowerformulas.htm

Hydraulic calculations, formulas and unit conversions compiled by AFS, see http://advancedfluidsystems.com/tools-resources/fluid-power-calculator/

Engineering toolbox – various calculation apps for hydraulics and pneumatics  https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/hydraulic-pneumatic-systems-t_59.html

Automation studio – software for simulating hydraulic circuit designs and component sizing http://www.automationstudio.com/

Hydraulic oil viscosity calculator – online app for calculating oil viscosity at different temperature and pressures http://www.webtec.com/education