NFPA Members Invited to Participate in MSOE’s Fluid Power Industry Consortium

Initiative Will Help Support NFPA’s Road-Mapping Efforts

by Eric Lanke NFPA President/CEO

The Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) has announced the formation of a new Fluid Power Industry Consortium (FPIC). MSOE, with its Fluid Power Institute, is a recognized leader in fluid power education, motion control, research, and evaluation. It has established FPIC to further support its many industrial partners. FPIC will provide quarterly, half-day seminars on the latest fluid power technology advances with immediate implementation. With an expected membership of OEMs, manufacturers, SMEs, and distributors, FPIC expects to provide a platform for networking, problem solving, and access to cutting-edge technology.

The National Fluid Power Association (NFPA) is a supporting partner of FPIC. As a result, NFPA member companies are exempt from the annual FPIC membership fee and are able to participate freely in the quarterly seminars. Members of NFPA’s Roadmap Committee, who assist the association in maintaining the NFPA Technology Roadmap, are especially encouraged to participate. It is expected that FPIC seminar topics will provide Roadmap Committee members with an ideal way to stay abreast of the technological advancements that will help meet the future needs of fluid power customers, expand fluid power into new customer markets, and attract the best and brightest young engineers to fluid power.

Seminar topics will focus on, but are not limited to, the following areas:

NFPA Technology Roadmap objectives:

• Increasing the energy efficiency of fluid power components and systems
• Improving the reliability of fluid power components and systems (e.g., increasing up-time, reducing maintenance requirements, making fluid power safe and easy to use)
• Reducing the size of fluid power components and systems while maintaining or increasing their power output
• Building “smart” fluid power components and systems (i.e., ones that perform self-diagnostics and troubleshooting and that integrate easily with “plug and play” functionality)
• Reducing the environmental impact of fluid power components and systems (e.g., lowering noise, eliminating leaks)
• Improving and applying the energy storage capabilities of fluid power components and systems

Fluid Power Manufacturing Roadmap objectives:

Improving the manufacture and function of fluid power components and systems through:

• Coatings
• Micro-machining
• Composites and engineered plastics
• Sintered metals
• Additive manufacturing
• Batch-free heat treating
• Robotics
• Hybrid manufacturing
• Metrology
• In-process sensing, feedback, and control