Filters for CE Applications
The market for hydraulic filtration is expected to grow in future due to demand from infrastructure sector and to meet the upcoming emission regulations next year. <p></p><p> Filtration keeps contaminants away and protects engines and equipment from contamination of air, fuel, hydraulic oil, lubricants, water and others. A motorised machine will generally consist of oil filters, transmission filters, hydraulic filters, air filters, and coolant filters. Filters are important components in an equipment as they reduce downtime and increase operational efficiency of the equipment. In order to meet the next level emission norms, construction equipment OEMs are looking for updated technologies to effectively meeting the upcoming emission norms.</p><p> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Types of filters</span><br />The construction and mining equipment use various types of filters such as engine oil filter, fuel filter, air filter, hydraulic in-tank filter/strainer, hydraulic reservoir breather, hydraulic fan drive filter, transmission filter, power steering filter, precleaner, cabin filter, coolant filter and air oil separator. </p><p> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Keeping machine up</span><br />Filters are one of the most important components that keep the machine up without breaking down due to contamination from fuel, air and the atmosphere it is working. According to <span style="font-weight: bold;">KD Sahni, Vice Chairman cum Joint Managing Director, Elofic Industries,</span> the role of filter in an equipment is to maintain the cleanliness to achieve the optimal performance, increase engine and equipment protection, extended service interval, reduced downtime and increased equipment efficiency and productivity.</p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Antomon Rapheal, Director-R&D Engineering - OE, Mann and Hummel Filter,</span> adds, "Without clean fuel, there can be no clean combustion - a maxim which never been more relevant than it is today. The more complex the design of diesel engines and their injection systems, the more sensitively they react to fuel contaminants such as particles or water. Fuel filters protect all the components of the injection system.ö</p><p> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Meeting emission norms</span><br />With the next level emission regulations is around the corner, equipment manufacturers are experimenting various options to meet the upcoming norms. Equipment manufacturers, engine manufactures and component manufacturers are interacting with each other to develop customised and competitive solutions in this direction. Elofic has developed a complete range of filtration products that helps its OEMs to meet BS-VI standards. "Elofic has come up with an advanced diesel filter which provides 99 per cent efficiency at four microns and is also able to achieve water separation efficiency above 95 per cent. Once BS-VI is adopted by industries, they shall be ready to cater to the future requirements," claims Sahni.</p><p>Efficient filtration systems can help manufacturers meet stringent emission regulations requirements, be it fuel filters, engine oil filters or air filters. Rapheal says, "Mann and Hummel has come up with a patented three-stage water separation filter for diesel fuels, which is currently being proposed to a number of Indian OEMs. Similarly, we introduced many new series of air cleaner systems to ensure consistent mass air throughput, which is very critical to maintain combustion performance."</p><p> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Growing demand</span><br />The requirement for filters is growing and when the new emission regulations hit the market in 2020, there will be more requirements for advanced and matching filters that can meet the conditions of the new emission regulations. According to Rapheal, the market for hydraulic filtration is growing consistently in the past and is expected to grow further in the coming years. </p>