
	DELTA NEWS - SEPTEMBER 2018	View in Browser

In This Issue...

News

Frequency of Acceleration
Advanced Training Class - November
Underdamped Hydraulic Cylinder Lab System
Interns at Delta
RMC200 PROFINET in Beta
A Word About Data Privacy

Distributor Highlight

YCS Co. Ltd.

People at Delta

Paul Huumala – Applications Engineering & Training

Trade Shows & Conferences

Learning More About Delta

Education & Training

Watch Delta Videos

How Natural Frequency Limits Frequency of Acceleration - And Why It Matters

The natural frequency of a hydraulic system refers to the system’s stiffness. Systems with higher natural frequency are easier to control when accelerating quicker than systems with low natural frequency. A hydraulic cylinder can be simply modeled as a mass between two springs. Low natural frequency systems have a low spring constant relative to the mass of the load. Conversely, high natural frequency systems have a high spring constant relative to the load mass. So how high should the natural frequency of the actuator relative to the frequency of acceleration be? Ideally, the natural frequency should be at least four times the required frequency of acceleration. This is true when using a standard hydraulic motion controller.

(Hydraulics & Pneumatics, Sept. 24, 2018)

Last Chance for Advanced Training in 2018

Delta's last Advanced Technical Training class of 2018 will be offered on November 13, 14, and 15 at our offices in Battle Ground, Washington. We continue to get overwhelmingly positive feedback about the training experience at Delta.

Our team is constantly making improvements to the curriculum, presentation, hands-on labs, and trainee experience. This Advanced Technical Training promises to be no exception.

With the addition of the Underdamped Hydraulic Cylinder Lab System (see next article), Delta now has four live hydraulic lab stations where attendees can tune and program live systems. In addition to the new Underdamped Hydraulic Cylinder System, there is the Two Cylinder Press, Basic Hydraulic, and Swing-arm Hydraulic systems. Students also work with smaller tabletop labs that focus on PLC/Motion Controller Communications (CompactLogix), Rotary Motion, and RMCTools User Programming using an electro-mechanical actuator.

If you have already had a Delta Basic Training in some format, either Live On-Line, Self-Paced, or Classroom, and you want to add to your RMCTools skill set, consider attending Advanced Training. Registration information can be found by following the link below.

Classroom Training

Underdamped Hydraulic Cylinder Lab System

Precise control is very difficult to achieve on hydraulic systems that have hose between the valve and cylinder, or use small diameter cylinders to move heavy loads. This newest lab incorporates both elements, allowing trainees to experience the challenge of tuning an underdamped system and to learn how the advanced control algorithms in Delta’s RMC motion controllers can make it possible.

The system features several elements that make it particularly instructive. The cylinder is deliberately undersized for the designed load and acceleration, and has a longer stroke than recommended. The load mass can be adjusted by adding or removing steel plates from the load sled. Finally, the servo hydraulic valve output can either be routed through short hard pipes or much longer flexible hoses to either side of the cylinder. By turning a few ball valves, the dramatic impact of increasing the volume of trapped oil is easily seen using the RMCTools Plot feature. Trainees can then use the Tuning Wizard to try to adjust the controller gains, using First Order and Second Order Tuning algorithms.

Interns at Delta

Delta has a long history of employing interns. In several cases, these interns have become full-time contributors to the Delta team after they graduated. You might have talked with one of them: David McNichol, who is an important part of Delta’s Technical Support and Training team.

Delta has often been able to provide these young people with a meaningful and important project. For example, this summer, an electrical engineering intern designed and built a prototype thumbwheel pendant for use with our motion controllers. We are currently doing beta testing and may productize this item. We believe it will be valuable for our customers in test stand applications.

The Underdamped Hydraulic Cylinder lab system in the above article is another great example. In this case, a talented mechanical engineering student was able to design and build the system in a period of 10 weeks. Before he left for his last semester in college, he gave a demonstration of the system.

These were truly win-win situations – real-world experience for the interns and progress on projects for Delta ... plus a chance to work with some fine young people!

RMC200 PROFINET in Beta Testing

Delta Computer Systems, Inc. is pleased to announce that PROFINET communications support for the RMC200 is in beta testing. After beta testing, the RMC200 will be submitted for certification to the PI organization which standardizes the PROFIBUS and PROFINET technologies. Pending certification, the RMC200 will join Delta’s RMC75 and RMC150 controllers as certified PROFINET IO Devices. Delta is committed to ongoing development and support for a wide variety of industrial communications protocols, ensuring our customers have the benefits of fast, precise servo-hydraulic and servo-electric control.

A Word About Data Privacy

There has been a lot of media attention recently around data privacy in general, and the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in particular. Some companies have sent emails asking people to “re-opt in” in order to continue to receive newsletters and other emails. But if you are like us, the last thing you need is yet another email blast.

Delta has worked hard to build a reputation for responsive, knowledgeable technical support. To make this possible, we need to have contact information for our customers. We do not need (or want) your personal information – just your business contact information. Since our products are often in service for (literally) decades, and our policy is to support our products for as long as there is demand, we do not have some arbitrary “delete date” for customer contact information, especially where it concerns technical support.

Of course, we want to use our newsletter mailing list to provide information to you on new products – after all, marketing and selling is what keeps us in business! We would never give out or sell this list and you can Unsubscribe at any time in order to be removed. But we hope you’ll stay! Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns.

Distributor Highlight

YCS Co. Ltd

YCS is an integrating distributor with several brands of complementary high-performance servo hydraulic controls and equipment. They offer complete solutions packages to industrial customers on the island of Taiwan.

Testing applications have become a particular area of focus for YCS recently. YCS' technical staff offers hydraulic system design and controls programming expertise for challenging applications, well suited to the testing industry. YCS also offers technical services, as well; for example, YCS engineers recently held a well-received custom Basic RMCTools Training class at a customer site.

Taiwan's industrial market faces unique challenges and opportunities, with the large Chinese market located so close. YCS is well-positioned and capable of providing reliable, innovative, and cost-effective solutions to this dynamic market.

People at DELTA

Paul Huumala – Applications Engineering

If you have used Delta's Technical Support recently, you may have already spoken to Paul Huumala. Paul has a strong background in industrial automation and robotics, as well as mechanical design and controls programming, which helps him troubleshoot and diagnose customer problems. In addition to Technical Support, Paul also is an active part of the Training team, guiding students through a variety of topics during Delta's Classroom Trainings.

A native of South Dakota, Paul and his family enjoy the natural beauty offered by the Pacific Northwest.

See Press Release