Fluid power faux pas

25 August, 2021

The thickness of the rubber materials and the placement of the reinforcement material can change the crimp dimensions as well. Likewise, couplings from different manufacturers are not necessarily equivalent. They may be made from different grades of steel, different material hardness, and include features, such as serrations, that are dimensionally different, significantly impacting the quality of the hose-coupling interface. Even the radius or heights of these features can significantly impact assembly performance.

A trained assembly technician is also critical to the assembly process. She or he must be trained to select the proper hose and couplings, cut the hose to the right length, remove debris and contaminants from the inside of the hose, ensure full coupling insertion onto the hose, select the appropriate crimper setting, and place the assembly properly in the crimper dies… and they must do all of this safely.

Finally, after the assembly has been made, the crimp diameter on each end of the assembly must be verified for proper crimping. This measurement is often performed with calipers and compared to a qualified crimp diameter range. Some systems also use a go-no go gauge to verify the crimp by reviewing either the crimp diameter or the stem collapse.

Smart crimpers are gaining popularity in the market. These crimpers make operator training and quality assembly easier by mistake-proofing various steps in the assembly process. Smart crimpers, such as Gates GC20 Cortex crimper, typically include the crimp settings in an on-board computer to eliminate the need to reference the crimp setting and program the crimper.

While it takes years to become a hydraulics expert, attention to several important details can mitigate many hydraulic system errors, avoiding potentially expensive – or worse, dangerous – fluid power faux pas.

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