Hydraulic Systems of

Machine Tools

Hydraulic Systems of
Machine Tools
Hydraulic systems are now ever more
widely used in machine tools as principal
and feed movement drives, speedchanging devices, braking mechanisms,
clamping devices, automatic control of
machining cycle, etc.
Hydraulic systems become the main type
of drive in machine tools like grinders,
shapers, copying millers, broaching
machines, etc.
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Hydraulic Systems of
Machine Tools
This extensive use of hydraulic systems
is due to their capability of:

providing infinitely variable speed over a

wide range,
smooth reversal of moving machine members,
automatic overload protection,
easy lubrication, etc.
Hydraulically controlled machine tools take
less floor space, and
their parts and units can be easily
standardized.
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Hydraulic Systems of
Machine Tools
Among their shortcomings are:
leakage of hydraulic fluid through seals and
gaps,
ingress of air into fluid,
effects of temperature and time on fluid
properties, etc.

Hydraulic Systems of Machine

Tools

Energy losses in hydraulic systems are

made up of:

volumetric losses due to leakage of hydraulic

fluid,
hydraulic losses due to a drop in pressure, and
mechanical losses due to friction between
contact surfaces.
Total efficiency of the hydraulic system, or
drive is:
= vhm
Where,
v, h, m are: volumetric, hydraulic and mechanical
efficiency, respectively.
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Working fluids in
hydraulic systems
Normal functioning of the hydraulic
system largely depends on the type of
working fluid employed.
This fluid should be sufficiently viscous
and uniform;
it should possess good lubricity and
protect mechanisms from corrosion;
it should retain its properties with
changes in temperature, pressure, speed
and direction of movement.

Working fluids in
hydraulic systems
The working fluid should not become oxidized or
evolve sediments, evaporate or inflame.
These requirements are best met by mineral oils and
their mixtures.
The principal property used in selecting and
comparing oils is the viscosity index, which shows the
change in the viscosity of an oil with its temperature.
The higher the viscosity index, the higher the quality
of the oil and the higher its refinement.
Oil viscosity index 90 is best suited for hydraulic
systems.

Components of the Hydraulic

System of Machine Tools
Typically, the machine-tool hydraulic
system includes:
an oil tank;
a pump to deliver oil into the system;
control devices (valves, regulators,
pressure-sensitive relays, timers, etc.)
to control pressure and volume of oil in
the system;

Components of the Hydraulic

System of Machine Tools

distributing devices to: control the working

cycle; operative cylinders for straight
movement and hydraulic motors for rotating
movement;
piping to connect all the elements of the
system.
Hydraulic systems in machine tools operate at an
oil pressure of up to 20 MN/m2 (200 kgf/cm2).

Pumps
Constant and variable-displacement
continuous-action pumps, such as gear
pumps, vane pumps, and radial piston
pumps are used to deliver oil under
pressure into the machine-tool hydraulic
system
The principal characteristic of the
hydraulic pump is the output, or delivery.
The rates of pump delivery have been
standardized; from a value of 18x10-3
m3/min onwards.
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Pumps
Rates of delivery constitute a geometric series
with a ratio of = 1.41.
The standard series of pump deliveries, in 10-3
m3/min, is:
0.5; 1; 2; 3; 5; 8; 12; 18; 25; 35; 50; 70; 100; 140,
200; 280; 400; 560; 800; 1120; 1600; 2250; 3200;
4500; 6300; 9000; 12000.
Minimum pump delivery for machine-tool hydraulic
drives is taken as Qmin = 3x10-3 m3/min, and
maximum delivery Qmax = 400x10-3 m3/min.

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Pumps
Proper pump selection, as regards type, delivery
and pressure, is essential in designing
hydraulically operated machine tools, because this
may determine their performance.
Power consumption of the pump is found from the
formula:
N = [(PQ)/ (6.12 vhm)] W

Where,
p = working pressure of pump, MN/m2
Q = rated delivery of pump, litres per minute
v, h, m = respectively volumetric, hydraulic, and
mechanical efficiency

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Pumps
To provide trouble-free operation of the pump
the following points should be addressed:
its shaft should be carefully aligned with the
drive motor shaft (permissible misalignment is
not more than 0.1 mm), the rotational direction
marked or,
the pump casing should be checked (for
nonreversible pumps), and
motor and pump shafts should be kept free of
burrs.
Widely used in machine tools are constant- and
variable-displacement pumps with different values
of delivery and pressure.

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Gear pumps
Gear pumps, as a rule, come in a constantdisplacement version. These are used in hydraulic
systems operating at relatively low pressures.
The gear pump shown in Fig. 64 comprises driving
gear 3 and driven gear 9 mounted in casing 2.
When the gears rotate, oil is drawn into suction
zone 1 by vacuum generated therein and carried
in the tooth spaces to discharge zone 10, and
then forced into the pipe line.

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Fig. 64. Clear pump

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Gear pumps
The projecting end of shaft 4 is sealed by
sleeve 8, whose end face is pressed to the end of
the flange by spring 7.
The spring bears against ring 6, whose
displacement is limited by pin 5.
The oil escaping through the gaps between the
joint surfaces is directed to the oil tank along the
corresponding drain grooves.

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Fig. 64. Gear pump

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Gear pumps
The main requirements for gear pumps are:
minimum clearances in all the fits;
gears centre distance should be held to strict
tolerances, and
minimum backlash in meshing gears should be
provided;
pump casing and gears should be manufactured
from highquality materials.

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Vane pumps
Vane pumps. Constant-displacement
double-acting vane pump is the most
common type in use.
These pumps are driven either directly by
a motor or through a mechanical
transmission.
The pumps of this type have high
efficiency and provide uniform delivery of
oil into the pipe line.

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Vane pumps
Vane pumps come in single and duplex types.
Duplex-type vane pumps are used for various
combinations of delivery and pressures.
High-delivery pumps are designed for pressures
of up to 2.5 MN/m2 (25 kgf/cm2), and low-delivery
pumps, for pressures of up to 6.5 MN/m2 (65
kgf/cm2).
Vane pumps are extensively used in hydraulic
machines with flow control where operating
members travel at low speed and with high pull
force.

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Vane pumps
Duplex-type pumps are employed, for instance,
to provide rapid traverse movements along with
slow operative movements of some machine
members.
Here, high-delivery pumps are used for rapid
traverse.
The arrangement and principle of operation of a
vane pump are illustrated in Fig. 65.

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Fig. 65: Vane pumps

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Vane pumps
The pump includes castiron casing 1, mounted
inside it is steel stator 2 with an elliptical
internal surface, and mounted on shaft 6 is rotor
3 carrying blades 4.
Bronze bushings integral with discs 5 closing the
working chamber at both sides serve as bearings
for the rotor.

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Vane pumps
Each disc has two suction and two discharge
ports.
The inward end faces of the discs have two
grooves each, serving to deliver some oil from the
discharge chambers to underneath the blades.
The suction ports and the discharge ports are
connected in pairs by cast-in channels in the
casing, thereby forming the suction chamber with
openings 7 and the discharge chamber with
openings 8.

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25

Vane pumps
When the rotor rotates, the blades are
pressed to the stator by centrifugal force
and the additional pressure of the oil
delivered from the discharge chamber to
underneath the blades, as mentioned
earlier.
Passing through the openings 7 the blades
suck the oil into the space between the
blades, the rotor and the stator.

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Vane pumps
As the blades pass by openings 8, the oil is
forced out through these openings into the
discharge chamber.
Thus, two full working cycles are carried out per
pump-rotor revolution, that is why this type of
pump is called double-acting.
To prevent the blades from jamming, they are
inclined at an angle of = 130-140.

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Rotary variable-displacement
piston pumps
Rotary variable-displacement piston pumps are
commonly used in the following applications:
(a) in manually controlled displacement with a
delivery range of Q = (50-200)x10-3 m3/min at
pressure of p = 20 MN/m2 (200 kgf/cm2);
(b) in hydraulically controlled displacement with a
delivery range of Q = (30-200)x10-3 m3/min at
pressure of 7.5 MN/m2 (75 kgf/cm2) ;
(c) in electro-hydraulically controlled
displacement with a delivery range of Q = (15100) x10-3 m3/min at pressure of p = 10 MN/m2
(100 kgf/cm2);

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Rotary variabledisplacement piston pumps

(d) with a delivery range of Q = (30-200)
x10-3 m3/min at pressure of p = 7.5 MN
/M2 (75 kgf/cm2) ;
(e) in hydraulic servo system controls with
a delivery range of Q = (15-50).10-3 m3/min
at pressure of p = 20 MN/m2 (200
kgf/cm2).

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Rotary variabledisplacement piston pumps

Rotary piston pumps with reversible delivery are
designed for the hydraulic systems of heavy
machine tools having a high pull capacity and
operating at high speeds, such as slotting
machines, broaching machines, planers, etc.
Rotary piston pumps may be of the radial type
(radial piston pumps) and of the axial type (axial
piston pumps), with pistons mounted either in the
stator or in the rotor.
Figure 66 shows a radial piston pump with pistons
mounted in rotor 1.

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Rotary variabledisplacement piston pumps

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Rotary variabledisplacement piston pumps

The rotor rotates about its axis along with pistons
2. Stator 3, contacting the heads of pistons 2, is
immovable, being positioned eccentrically with
respect to the rotor.
The rotor shaft has two separate inner chambers,
one being the suction chamber and the other, the
discharge.
When the rotor rotates through 180, each
piston moves away from the centre to the
periphery along its bore, sucking in oil from the
corresponding chamber of the shaft.
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Rotary variabledisplacement piston pumps

Further rotation of the rotor (from 180 to 360)
moves the pistons back to the centre and forces
the oil into the discharge chamber.
Thus, each piston makes a double stroke per rotor
revolution.
The length of the stroke depends on the
eccentricity of the stator to the rotor.
A change in the value of eccentricity results in
pump delivery variation.

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Rotary variabledisplacement piston pumps

When the rotor and stator- axes coincide (e =
0), pump delivery is nil.
The pistons of the radial piston pump are urged
outwards by centrifugal force and the additional
pressure of the oil delivered from an auxiliary
low-pressure pump.
Radial piston pumps may contain from 5 to 126
pistons arranged in one, two, three or four rows,
depending on the pump delivery.

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Rotary variabledisplacement piston pumps

Radial piston pumps have delivery ranges of 0.24 litres per min for small-size models, and 18600 litres per min for large-size models, with
pressure ranges of up to 7.5 MN/m2 (75
kgf/cm2 ) and higher under continuous operation.

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Pressure- and Flow-Control

Devices
Various control devices are used to control the
oil-flow parameters in machine-tool hydraulic
systems, such as pressure and volume of flow.
More specifically, these are used to maintain the
required pressure within the hydraulic system, to
regulate:
the flow and also to disconnect certain parts
of the hydraulic circuit from the others.

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Pressure- and Flow-Control

Devices
Pressure-control valves are used:

to protect the system against overload,

to maintain constant pressure, and also
to reduce pressure in certain branches of the hydraulic
circuit.

Safety valves serve:

to protect the system against excess pressures.

Figure 67 shows a ball safety valve.

It is connected to the hydraulic system and is
subjected to oil pressure.
The ball is pressed to the-valve seat by a spring
closing the valve.

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Figure 67 Safety valve with ball

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Safety valve
When the oil pressure exceeds its predetermined value, the ball is lifted up,
compressing the spring, and the excess oil
escapes through the exhaust passages into
the oil tank, whereupon the ball returns to
its original position and closes the valve.
The limiting pressure at which the valve
opens is set up by an adjusting cap
whose displacement changes the force of
the spring.

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Hydraulic Power Cylinders and

Motors
Hydraulic power cylinders are designed to
transform the energy of a fluid flow into the
kinetic energy of a reciprocating machinetool
operative member.
There is a great variety of hydraulic cylinder
designs and arrangements; however, symmetrical
and asymmetrical cylinders are the most widely
employed.
The former, having a double-end piston rod,
provide equal speeds of forward and return
strokes at constant pressure, while the latter,
having a single-end piston rod, move faster on the
return than on the forward stroke.
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Hydraulic Power Cylinders and

Motors
With symmetrical cylinders, the rod of
reciprocating piston 2 is connected to table 1,
while the cylinder itself is stationary (Fig. 75a).
With asymmetrical cylinders, it is either the
cylinder (Fig. 75b) or the piston (Fig. 75c) that is
stationary.
In the latter instance, the table is connected with
the reciprocating cylinder.
Hydraulic motors, similar in design to hydraulic
pumps (mostly of the rotary-piston type),
transform the energy of a fluid flow into the
kinetic energy of the rotating motor shaft.
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Fig. 75

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Directional Control Devices

Directional control devices, such as spool-type
valves, pilots, etc. are used to control the
direction of oil flow and to connect and
disconnect various branches of the hydraulic
system.
Such devices are operated manually, mechanically
(from trip dogs of the machine tool), hydraulically
or electrically.
The hydraulically operated a two-way directional
control valve shown in Fig. 74 is used to reverse
the motion of machine-tool operative members.

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Fig. 74: Directional Control Valve

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Directional Control Valve connected to the Cylinder

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Directional Control Valve

The two extreme positions of spool 1 correspond to
opposite directions of the controlled unit motion.
The spool changes its position under the pressure
of oil directed to its end faces through inlets made
in the valve flanges.
During the right extreme position of the spool, as
shown in the figure, liquid flows through the inlet at
the left hand side of the figure, while the outlet at
the right hand side acts as the outlet for the liquid
and vice versa, due to the design of the spool as
indicated in the figure.
The speed of the spool shifting is regulated by
throttle 3.

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 There are two adjusting screws 2 to limit

the travel of the spool whenever the
frequency of reversals and their
smoothness need to be increased.

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Hydraulic Drive Schemes

Volume/speed control

Hydraulic drives are classified according to the

method of speed regulation of hydraulic motors.
The speed of a hydraulic motor or cylinder piston
depends on the rate of flow (the volume of oil per
unit of time) delivered to it.
One method of changing the rate of flow, known
as variable-displacement control, involves the use
of a variable-displacement pump; this method is
employed in hydraulic systems with a wide range
of speeds and loads

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Hydraulic Drive Schemes

Another method, known as flow control, consists
in the application of throttle valves installed in
hydraulic systems using constant-displacement
pumps, which discharge oil at a constant pressure.
The basic circuit diagrams of hydraulic drives
with flow control of speed are presented in Fig.
76 a, b, c.
In the circuit shown in Fig. 76a, throttle valve 2
is located in the discharge line leading out of the
cylinder.

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Fig. 76a Location of throttles in hydraulic

control circuits

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Hydraulic Drive Schemes

Constant-displacement vane-type pump 1 sucks oil
from the tank and delivers it to the left chamber
of the cylinder.
The right chamber of the cylinder can be
discharged only through throttle 2, whose
passage area determines the volume of the
discharged oil, and so the speed of the piston.
Since pump delivery in flow-controlled drives
exceeds that needed for providing the rated
piston speed, the excess oil is directed to the
tank through relief valve 3,

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Hydraulic Drive Schemes

In the circuit shown in Fig. 76b, throttle valve 2
is located in the delivery line leading to the
cylinder, and its oil passage area determines the
piston speed.
Excess oil from pump 1 is also directed to the
tank through relief valve 3.

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Fig. 76b Location of throttles in

hydraulic control circuits.

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Hydraulic Drive Schemes

In the circuit according to Fig. 76c, the throttle
valve is located at the by-pass branch connected
in parallel with the cylinder.
The piston speed is determined by the difference
between the volume of the oil delivered by the
pump and the volume of the oil directed to the
tank through the throttle.

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Fig. 76c Location of throttles in

hydraulic control circuits.

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Hydraulic Drive Schemes

In hydraulic drives arranged according to the
schemes shown in Figs 76a and b, the power
consumption of the pump is the maximum,
irrespective of the useful load, with the value of
pressure, at which excess oil is drained to the
tank, set by relief valve 3.
In these drives, however, volumetric losses do not
affect the piston speed.
In the drive shown in the scheme Fig. 76c, the
pressure corresponds to the useful load, but the
change of this load and also volumetric losses
affect the piston speed.

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