Alternatives to hydraulic circuits

 A good alternative to using a hydraulic circuit would be using a pneumatic circuit. Pneumatics is the use of pressurized gas in an enclosed circuit to perform a specific function. Because of the benefits that pneumatic circuits offer over hydraulic circuits they are becoming more widely used today in different industries. 

These benefits include initial low cost, cleaner then hydraulics, and easy storage of air because it is compressed. Another benefit of a pneumatic circuit is that the motor that powers the compressor doesn’t always have to be running; it only runs when the compressor is on. 


The basic components that a  pneumatic circuit needs are a compressor to compress air, a tank to store the compressed air, a pressure switch to turn off the compressor when the desired amount of air pressure is reached, a check valve to stop air from getting back into the compressor, a safety valve to stop any over pressure getting into the circuit, a pressure gauge to observe circuit pressure, and lastly a circuit to perform a desired function. Some of the different actuators that use pneumatics are air motors and air cylinders. Air motors produce rotary mechanical motion while air cylinders produce linear mechanical motion.