INVESTIGATION OF A DIGITAL HYDRAULIC ACTUATION SYSTEM FOR A WASTE BALING PRESS.

Energy efficiency of modern industry machinery imply using adaptive electronic driving modules, based on digital processing units, in order to offer superior machine capabilities through firmware updating. It is a well-known fact that classic hydraulics installations mounted on industrial machinery are sometimes too complex and difficult to reconfigure and in some cases impossible. Industrial machines need to be flexible and energy efficient, leading to real challenges for industrial designers. Standardized hydraulics equipment and digital driving electronic modules are still a solution to modern industrial needs, but the energy efficiency is poor. Complexity of hydraulics installations has been, somehow, passed to electronics driving modules but leaded to a rapid increase in control system's complexity. Hydraulics manufacturing companies promote nowadays the concept of digital hydraulics systems as the answer to modern technical challenges. In this paper, the authors have investigated the possibility of using the digital hydraulics concept in replacing conventional electrohydraulic directional valves, in the case of a waste baling press. It will be underlined main advantages and disadvantages of digital hydraulics over classic hydraulics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]