Hydraulic Motor Testing Rig

Hydrotechnik UK designed and custom built a hydraulic testing rig, capable of testing the efficiency of a wide range of hydraulic motors commonly fitted onto forklifts and other hydraulic machinery. Having built up a loyal customer base over the past 20 years repairing and re-selling motors, KPEC wanted to improve their testing facilities to continue providing a top class service. KPEC required their motors to go through extensive testing under specific conditions, to understand the performance of the refurbished motor. 

Testing Specification

KPEC required a user-operated testing system with a variable flows up to 100 litres-per-minute through the motor and a maximum pressure of 300 bar with a torque load of up to 1100Nm.

During the test, the user needed to be able to control the direction, both clockwise or anti-clockwise, the flow rate, loading pressure, temperature and system pressure.

Additionally, they needed to monitor the status through reading in real-time on the control panel, with seven accurately individual displays. 

• Motor Torque
• Case Drain Flow
• System Flow Rate
• Motor Speed
• Loading Pressure
• System Pressure
• System Oil Temperature

Building the Testing System – the Power of Three

This rig was truly a team effort. It combined Hydrotechnik UK's 25 years of experience and deep understanding of pressure measurement, flow, rpm, torque and temperature, measurement and recording, Filtertechnik's understanding of filtration, and UK Flowtechnik knowledge of hydraulic components.

Hydraulic Components 

A variety of pump accessories were supplied from Hydrotechnik’s sister company: UK Flowtechnik, such as bell housings, damping elements, foot brackets to improve the noise levels, oil coolers to keep systems running smoothly. and spider couplings. Such components help to sustain the life of the pump and test piece.

Pump/Motor 

Hydrotechnik UK sourced two pumps for the system and loading side: custom-built Bosch Rexroth piston pumps, with an internal proportional control for the loading side and for the system.

Filtration 

In order to protect against the motors degradation during testing, through the natural build-up of particulate contamination, we fitted 14” Schroeder filters for offline, pressure and return line filters. They removed particulate contamination down to 3µm absolute filtration.
For peace of mind, indication lights inform the user when the filters become blocked and require changing, while also highlighting the overall health of the system. Also fitted was a VF60 high-pressure inline filter to catch any contamination whilst carrying out the test.

Running the Test

We carry out demonstration tests on the test pieces for each of our test rigs, under the required conditions and specification requested from the customer. In this case: KPEC.

In-house tests were carried out to test the performance of a hydraulic motor at 43 litres/minute at 34.3 bar system pressure and 132 RPM. Hydrotechnik UK successfully installed the test rig on site and carried out testing to the customers' specification. From the test results, we can see that the MultiSystem5060Plus datalogger captured all the key data required from six channels: the system pressure, loading pressure, main temperature, motor speed, torque and system flow. This performance data could be downloaded onto our HYDROCOM6 software for further analysis.

For each of the test rigs that we design and build, we provide a full technical brief, design the rig with the latest 3D CAD system and build to ISO 9001's highest engineering standards. We also provide training for all test rig users, so they can carry out the tests unaided.

Hydrotechnik UK has helped many component manufacturers of valves, motors, pumps, hoses, and cylinders to carry out component sign-off tests. To discover more about our recent installations, please view our other case studies.