Hey! It's Adel from the LIFCO Content Team again talking to Fraser about Hydraulics. This unit looks like a gear pump, but it's not. Yup, you heard that right. We also go into the importance of hydraulic drawings. Read our conversation below and watch the video for more details!
Video Link: Hydraulic Flow Divider Video
Adel: For the Flow Divider Video, there isn't much to talk about. BUT I do have the drawings for it, so lets talk about that. I quoted you saying “Importance of drawings in hydraulic components for troubleshooting” - Can you explain?
Fraser: Nothing is more frustrating than mislabeled goods, miscommunication, or just details missed. Drawings that are shared make the world go around.
Adel: Ha. Sounds like that saying should be on a post card. Since you’ve been in the hydraulics world for so long, can you share a story where a lack of proper drawings caused an entire order or project to go wrong?
Fraser: Recently a customer had a mislabeled part on a drawing. They ordered in April of 2024 and it did not get resolved until the fall of 2025. For the first few months it was like the comedy skit "Who's on First?". Imagine just speaking to someone and they are saying a word but it is not in the dictionary. Or even worse, it says the opposite in different dictionaries. It was miserable. To make matters worse, the part itself was mislabeled with a different part number which was wrong. So we thought they were just asking about that mistake. The item was a "Potentiometer" which is used to measure the swashplate angle and then provide the feedback to a servo valve. A very precise and expensive component on a very expensive pump (Parker Gold Cup).
Adel: When do you think drawings stop being helpful and start becoming unnecessary?
Fraser: I think when drawings become a "Cover your own ass" tactic is when people get carried away. They are meant to clearly communicate, not hid an important detail in the fine print. But sometimes they can do both. About ten years ago we produced drawings for Linde units that went to Alaska. Had we not produced drawings for everyone involved, and clearly communicated what we were supplying, it likely would've required us to fly someone to Alaska and get everything sorted out. Unfortunately some people have a documentation-phobia.
Adel: Luckily we didn't have to go to Alaska. So this fear, is it because not many people know how to read these drawings and documents OR is it a fear of writing them wrong? I guess I'm asking who has this fear the most?
Fraser: I think people are just busy. Also cell phones don't help: too tough to read drawings on a phone. Even at LIFCO we had to get in the habit of printing out on our plotters (large format printers for drawings). It is too easy for them to get lost in someone's email. Also difficult to huddle around a computer screen., Sorry trees, but drawings need to get printed out, studied, and referred to continuously. Maybe there is some laziness too, because it is a lot of work.
Adel: So if your in the hydraulics industry just get use to drawings. There gonna be around. Is there other industries that use drawings you have dealt with? or know of? and drawings and schematics are the same?
Fraser: They all use them. Hydraulic drawings are geometry, and usually a lot more notes like for assembly and testing. Schematics just show hydraulic components and their connections, with all the logic clearly detailed. They both usually contain a Bill Of Materials (BOM)
Adel: Which people use to order parts from. Correct parts I should say.
Fraser: No, that is usually service literature. Which is something made by the manufacturer to help people repair their components. Here is an example of service literature.
Adel: Yes we see our technicians referencing these all the time. Again more paper work. Any last thoughts on Drawings, schematics, literature you think people should hear or know about. It seems important. I just wish I knew more on how to read the drawings, but that will come in time. One component at a time you have said before!
Fraser: Don't lose them.