Efforts to complete a technology roadmapping effort designed, in part, to identify the technology needs of companies in markets represented by AEM members and serviced by the National Fluid Power Association (NFPA) members are well underway.

Key stakeholders involved in the process to refresh and republish the NFPA Technology Roadmap for the Fluid Power Industry met in March to review the results of a recently conducted survey on potential fluid power capability improvements to help the technology meet or better meet the customer needs described by the Roadmap’s customer drivers and strategies. Production of a new Roadmap is expected to be completed in August of this year.

The process is overseen by the NFPA Roadmap Committee – which for this cycle is chaired by Bradlee Dittmer of NORGREN and vice-chaired by Steve Meislahn of AEM member company Sun Hydraulics/Helios. The group recently identified eight capability improvements, which are:

• Data -- Improving ability to monitor, gather and use data generated from fluid power products and/or systems.
• Ease of use -- Improving ease of use and application of fluid power (through automated control, communications, increased dynamic performance, etc.).
• Energy efficiency -- Increasing the energy efficiency of fluid power products and/or systems.
• Environmental impact -- Reducing the environmental impact of fluid power products and/or systems (i.e., leaks, sustainable materials, damage to environment).
• Noise -- Reducing the level and harshness of the noise generated by fluid power products and/or systems.
• Power density -- Increasing the power density of fluid power products and/or systems.
• Reliability and durability -- Improving the reliability and/or durability of fluid power products and/or systems.
• Safety -- Improving the safe use and application of fluid power products and/or systems.

The next step for the NFA Roadmap Committee is to work to determine determining the research areas, the broad areas of pre-competitive investigation that can help bring about the improvements described by the capability Improvements. To do so, NFPA has launched a pair of new surveys to collect feedback from the widest possible group of stakeholders across the fluid power supply chain (one focused on hydraulic research areas, and the second focused on pneumatic research areas), which can be found immediately below:

Hydraulic survey = https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/V6LFLRK

Pneumatic survey = https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/R6B2FJT

The surveys will remain open to April 6, 2023, and the NFA Roadmap Committee is scheduled to meet again on June 1 of this year.

Every other year, the National Fluid Power Association (NFPA) engages with stakeholders across the fluid power supply chain to re-release its Technology Roadmap for the Fluid Power Industry. The NFPA Roadmap is a document that describes the evolving needs of companies in fluid power’s many customer markets, the degree to which fluid power is capable of meeting those needs, and the research and design (R&D) objectives that will help fluid power meet or better meet those needs in the future.

Stakeholders with interest in joining the committee and participating in the roadmapping process should contact AEM’s Sara Feuling at sfeuling@aem.org or NFPA’s Eric Lanke at elanke@nfpa.com.

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