Hydraulic systems are commonly found in a wide variety of sectors which use various machinery and equipment to fulfill different requirements. Earth-moving machinery, vehicles with trailers, oil and gas extraction equipment, industrial complexes and agricultural machinery all need hydraulic couplings which guarantee correct operation and operator safety. A key feature in hydraulic quick couplings is the versatility to responding to this wide range of operating conditions.
Detailed design and well-organized production processes result in efficient solutions which can benefit any sector, thanks to the intrinsic quality of the quick couplers. In the case of flat face quick couplings, the major benefit is to combine the speed of coupling/uncoupling operations with a flat face valve system, spring mechanisms, safety locks and special gaskets which can eliminate the loss of fluids altogether when male and female connectors are separated.
This system benefits all sectors because:
- it guarantees that the machinery operates at the correct hydraulic pressure
- facilitates the cleaning of the couplings
- cuts the costs linked to the replacement of lost fluid
- makes the workplace safer, preventing workers from coming into contact with potentially dangerous substances and from making the workplace unsuitable to do their work
In some sectors, however, flat face quick couplings offer additional benefits. In agricultural applications, for example, you have to change equipment multiple times throughout the working day by coupling and uncoupling the hydraulic lines. In this case, it is essential that:
- the operations are carried out quickly, without the need to use specific tools or special procedures
- there are no fluid losses which contaminate the soil, not just for environmental reasons, but from a good commercial standpoint because the land is the main agricultural resource and if it becomes contaminated, it could have serious repercussions on the business
In the agricultural sector, however, there is still a widespread use of mushroom-head quick couplings (known as poppets) which do not offer the same benefits as the flat face versions. Poppets were, in fact, the very first technology employed for quick couplings and are still widely adopted because they make it possible to quickly couple and uncouple hydraulic lines. Indeed, in many cases, this is sufficient for users who do not see the need to sustain the costs of adopting more recent technology.
Another aspect concerns the regulations governing international standardization. Whereas in other sectors there are standards to be followed to standardize their presence on the market, in the case of connecting equipment to farm machinery, a standard has not yet been declared which contemplates the use of flat face quick couplings. Manufacturers of farm machinery, tools and quick couplings are working to ensure that the enhanced technology offered by flat-face couplings is recognized through a specific ISO (International Organization for Standardization) standard in this area of application as well.
It is therefore important to fully understand the added value that flat face quick couplings bring to agriculture by preventing fluid leaks that may contaminate the soil. Flat face quick couplings facilitate all operations that are carried out by farm workers on a daily basis. Contact us to find out more about the quality of flat face quick couplings by Stucchi.
This article first appeared here: https://www.stucchigroup.com/en/flat-face-quick-couplings-for-increased-performance-in-agriculture/
