Redisgning a Hydraulic Control System
The team at C-LARs recently redesigned a hydraulic control system for one of our customer’s winch and u frame.
The Problem
Previously, this system, consisting of a small winch and u frame, was not operationally useful for our customer’s application. The winch could not lift the required payload, deployment and recovery speeds were sporadic, and there was poor resolution throughout the speed range. The u frame violently slammed when starting motion in either direction and had inconsistent deployment and recovery times. Further, the system generated a significant amount of heat. The root of these operational issues were due to excessive and mismatched components for the application.
Before Installation:
The previous system utilized valves that were mismatched for the application. The Natchi proportional valve that was used to control the winch was capable of 50 gpm, however, the winch only required a maximum of 6 gpm to meet the customer’s line speed requirement. Due to this, speed control on the low end was nearly non-existent. The winch did not have any manual controls, meaning the operators had to rely exclusively on electrical control. The solenoid valve used to control the u frame did not have any dampening characteristics, which caused the u frame to slam violently at the beginning of its movement. Further, due to the function of the hydraulic pump, the u frame deployed significantly faster than it recovered. A manual control valve was plumbed in parallel to this solenoid valve, adding additional hose lengths. Flow control valves were installed, but were not plumbed in locations to control system performance effectively. A single pressure gauge was installed that only showed system pressure and did not provide any indication of the pressure requirements for operation.
The Solution
Using our experience and knowledge of hydraulic control systems for this type of equipment, we were able to design a control system that greatly enhanced the operational characteristics of the system, significantly reduced the number of parts required, and meet the customer’s specified performance requirements
After Installation:
During the installation in Gulf Shores, AL, the team at C-LARs manufactured and installed a new lot of hydraulic hoses on-site, installed and tuned the new control system, and performance tested with the customer. Our redesign eliminated all un-nececesary components allowing for a very clean and simple installation. The two bank valve assembly incorporated a proportional valve that matched flow requirements for the winch control and a solenoid valve for u frame control. A set of manual controls was incorporated for the both the winch and the u frame. Flow rates were set for the solenoid valve to allow for more consistent deployment and recovery speeds. This valve also provided dampening, which helped to alleviate any slamming. An additional gauge was added to show the operating pressure, allowing the operator to visually verify the demand of the system while in operation and contrast with available system pressure. All controls and indicators were clearly labeled on black plastic, creating a very clean look from the previous installation.