Bosch Rexroth has opened a new Hydraulics Training Center to help support the technical education needs in the fluid power industry. The state-of-the-art facility will help provide skills development for those just entering the industry as well as seasoned professionals.
"As a leading manufacturer of hydraulic products, it is very important for us to have a state-of-the-art training facility, allowing us to support the future of fluid power," said Phil West, Training Center Manager, Bosch Rexroth, in an interview with Power & Motion.
There is a need for more training in the hydraulics and pneumatics industry to ensure those working in it have the required skills, which Bosch Rexroth hopes to help overcome with its new training center. "With the reduction in the number of big industrial companies offering engineering apprenticeships and their own in-house training, there is a need to fill the gap," said West.
Skills Development for Hydraulics Engineers
The training center is equipped with three advanced training stations to provide practical, hands-on training. Classrooms and conference rooms in the training center provide learning space as well.
Also included in the hydraulics training center are standard industrial components for trainees to work with which adhere to internationally standardized programming languages with open interfaces, ensuring trainees are prepared to work with technology available in the market.
Creation of the training center enables Bosch Rexroth to offer its hydraulics expertise for a wide range of industries. In addition, West said "We have a unique advantage of having our training center embedded within our manufacturing campus and have a supply of extremely qualified hydraulic engineers at our disposal."
This will help provide access to current technologies and hydraulics engineering knowledge to help enhance the educational experience.
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Bosch Rexroth plans to offer training courses covering a range of subjects — including hydraulics, electric drives, control technology and more. "Digitization and automation are very much part of the operation of today’s hydraulic systems. Therefore, it is essential that design engineers, commissioning engineers and maintenance engineers have an understanding of more than just the fluid running through pipes," said West.
By covering an array of applicable subjects through its training courses, the company aims to provide the wide breadth of knowledge necessary for working in the hydraulics industry today, as well as in the future given the fast pace at which technology is changing due to increasing digitization and automation as West pointed to as well as electrification and other trends.
"We have structured our courses to cover all aspects of hydraulic learning and will be hosting students new to the industry with our Basic Hydraulics Training Course," said West. "We also offer courses for experienced engineers with a program of advanced classes tailored to specific customer requirements."
Bosch Rexroth plans to hold courses throughout the year at the new hydraulics training center, offering multiple learning opportunities for the engineering community. The first set of courses are set to begin in January 2024 with more in the works for the remainder of the year:
- Basic Hydraulics: This introductory course is tailored for those new to hydraulics, delving into fundamental principles.
- Proportional Hydraulics: Offering a deeper insight into hydraulic technology, this course explores electro-proportional hydraulic valves, their operation, control, and troubleshooting.
- Hydraulic Setup, Commissioning and Maintenance: Providing practical knowledge in planning and executing hydraulic system work, measuring performance, and problem-solving.
- Design Considerations for Industrial Hydraulics: Essential for system improvement and new hydraulic application design, this course covers load evaluation and valve selection.
- Hydraulic Pump/Motor Controls: Enhancing knowledge of fixed and variable displacement piston pumps, motors, and control technologies.
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