Automation Studio Hydraulic Library
Dortha Chuang
HydraForce of Lincolnshire, IL , producer of the world's broadest range of high quality, cartridge valves has collaborated with Famic Technologies Inc. of Saint Laurent, Quebec to incorporate their valve library into Famic's Automation StudioTM software.
The HydraForce product-enhanced software will allow complete modeling of an integrated hydraulic circuit inside Automation Studio. HydraForce Distributors and OEM customers will be able to easily design system circuits using HydraForce components and provide quick circuit simulation to verify various system functions including performance calculations, heat-load requirements and other engineering considerations such as horsepower, pressure drop and volumetric efficiency. HydraForce incorporated over 900 valves, components, and options into Automation StudioTM , an innovative system design, simulation and project documentation solution for the design and support of automation and fluid power systems.
HydraForce and Famic have developed detailed, functional simulations for Automation Studio software that will simulate HydraForce products performance in a hydraulic circuit, as well as their compatibility with other system components (see figure 1). Automation Studio provides system animation with interactive operator components such as joysticks, steering wheels, and switches, in order to input proportional function commands to a simulation (see figure2). HydraForce and Famic have worked together in the past on i-Design, a hydraulic system design software that allows users to create custom integrated manifold circuits, specify valve assembly layout, as well as determine the price of the assembly.
Automation Studio V5.7 has now incorporated a fully compatibly Hydraforce library so that a user can start a project in i-Design and then export into Automation Studio for simulation. Tony Casale, VP of Worldwide Sales and Marketing at HydraForce had this to say about the project, "The integration of HydraForce components into Automation Studio offers a huge advantage to system designers. The time it takes to develop and prototype a machine lowers significantly as the number of iterations of a hydraulic circuit, and testing time decrease. Incorporating our products into the Automation Studio platform and making it compatible with i- Design was the next logical progression for making system design easier on our customers."
Tony Casale also added this, "i-Design has become the primary vehicle for our customers to submit projects through our sales and engineering department. Because of our previous work with Famic on iDesign, our customers can now seamlessly integrate circuits from i-Design and Automation studioTM for functional testing prior to quoting and shipping a product. The industry has been trending toward cartridge valves for quite some time now, the inclusion of our products into Automation StudioTM should help to broaden the awareness of cartridge valves in hydraulic applications."
Charbel Nasr, President of Famic Technologies Inc., has said, "When companies are faced with challenging economic conditions, management teams have to be very creative in order to do more with less. Automation StudioTM is making them stand out! The tool improves productivity and efficiency at every step of the product lifecycle. It allows projects to be delivered on time and within their budget limitations. It clearly makes the difference. Our partnership with HydraForce makes it even easier for Automation StudioTM users to efficiently design systems using HydraForce components. Most of all, it confirms once again the innovation that Automation StudioTM brings as a distinctive solution for engineering, training, and servicing of complete systems."
HydraForce offers one of the most comprehensive lines of high quality hydraulic cartridge valves for the mobile and industrial equipment markets. They design high performance valves to meet virtually any need encountered in machine design for flow rates of 0.4 to 375 lpm (0.1 to 100 gpm) and pressures up to 420 bar (6000 psi). HydraForce is aggressively pursuing the hydraulic cartridge valve, electrohydraulic control, custom integrated circuit manifold, and electronic vehicle control markets. Since their founding in 1985, they have grown to become the worlds leading supplier of cartridge valve products. HydraForce's success is due to their commitment to innovation and quality. Products consistently achieve the optimum combination of quality, efficiency and economy. HydraForce has international distribution through one of the world's most technical distribution networks. i-Design is available globally through HydraForce and its authorized distributors.
Automation Studio is a leading software solution that helps manufacturers to reduce their machine timetomarket and to optimize the entire workflow of a project or product lifecycle. It allows seamless integration of system design engineering, simulation, prototyping, testing and troubleshooting, diagnostics and maintenance, service, training, and documentation. Automation StudioTM is offered in 9 languages and sold in more than 75 countries worldwide. It is available globally through Famic Technologies and its authorized distributors.
Famic Technologies Inc., a Montreal based company, manufactures, markets, and supports CAD and simulation software solutions for fluid power, automation and controls applications. Founded in 1986, Famic Technologies provides innovative software solutions to help engineers, maintenance and service personnel, and trainers in the design, training, and maintenance of their systems.
Comatrol of Easley, South Carolina, a member of the Sauer-Danfoss Group that engineers, manufactures and supplies screw-in cartridge valves and Hydraulic Integrated Circuits (HICs), announced today that it has collaborated with Famic Technologies to make two main products available: (1) the second version of its hydraulic manifold circuit design software, EasyValveTM, and (2) a first version of its valve catalogue for Automation StudioTM, an innovative design and simulation software developed by Famic Technologies Inc. of Montreal, Quebec.
(Montreal, Canada, February 20th 2024)
The education and technology transfer landscape has recently experienced significant upheavals. The increasing digitalization of different industrial sectors adds an additional challenge to training and technology transfer activities. These must be relevant and, above all, respond to new realities and new requirements: remoteness, regionalization of knowledge transfer, labour shortages, etc.
Famic Technologies Inc., today announced an array of new feature innovations and enhanced design and functionalities unmatched in the simulation solution software industry for teaching and training all project/machine technologies including hydraulics, pneumatics, electrical systems and HMI. Automation StudioTM, Version 6.1 offers the most complete design and simulation software in the industry today.
Automation Studio is a circuit design, simulation and project documentation software for fluid power systems and electrical projects conceived by Famic Technologies Inc. It is used for CAD, maintenance, and training purposes. Mainly used by engineers, trainers, and service and maintenance personnel. Automation Studio can be applied in the design, training and troubleshooting of hydraulics, pneumatics, HMI, and electrical control systems.[1][2]
The educational version of Automation Studio is a limited features version used by engineering and technical schools to train students who are future engineers or technicians. The software is designed for schools that teach technical subjects such as industrial technologies, mechatronics, electromechanical technologies, electrical & electronics, automation, and maintenance. Modeling and simulation are used to illustrate theoretical aspects.
Automation Studio Hydraulics is the main aspect of Automation Studio: it is used to conceive and to test hydraulic systems while taking into account thermal parameters. It displays inside views of the elements in the schematics. The Automation Studio library includes additional elements such as commands and control devices (PID controller, CAN bus, and servo-direction).
Automation Studio Pneumatics is similar to Automation Studio Hydraulics, but the simulation is done for air rather than fluids. This library, like Automation Studio Hydraulics, is used to design and test models.
Automation Studio is a fluid power simulation and automation tool. One thing that makes it unique from other simulation options is that with one license engineers can assess many use cases. For instance, structural, thermal and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analyses of hydraulic, pneumatic, controls and electrical systems can be assessed in one tool and with the same user interface (UI). With other simulation software options, even when offered by the same provider, each one of these analyses may require a different license to numerous software that each use a different UI.
My focus with Automation Studio is hydraulic circuits. I use the digital simulation tool to provide a smell test before I physically build a system. Different use cases include testing a circuit design, modeling an existing system to assess updates, or building a digital twin that can help you understand the limits of a real-world system.
The Library Explorer lists a full range of hydraulic components that engineers can use to model a circuit. When an errant click accidentally closes this indispensable window, you can click the Library Explorer icon in the toolbar to bring it back.
Everyone learned about hydraulic and pneumatic systems differently, and there are several different sequences for modeling these systems. I prefer the system requirement method and will follow the steps of this method in this tutorial.
Next comes a pressure relief valve to set the pressure of the system, the pump to move the fluid and create said pressure and a motor to act as the prime mover. A reservoir is then needed to hold the working fluid. Once all these components populate the workspace and the technical property is customized, the next step is to hook them all together.
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