Daniel Dunn - Product Specialist, Hydraulics

What is your name and job role; describe your everyday activities, what do you typically do in a day and how long have you been in the industry for?

My name is Daniel Dunn and I’m a Product Specialist who looks after the industrial hydraulics range of products. My role is to support the sales and technical team with any technical aspects of the products. This can range from individual questions about a particular feature through to configuring for hydraulic systems. I’m actually celebrating something of a milestone in 2024, I’ve been with the company for 17 years which at the age of 33 is just over half of my life.

What is a product or solution you are most proud of having worked on recently?

I’d have to say our range of connected hydraulic products. In a world that’s becoming infinitely more connected, it’s great to have such a traditional technology like hydraulics pioneering new solutions in the connected world, not too long after certain industry experts were predicting that hydraulics would be a dying technology altogether. We’re making a lot of advancements; take a product such as Sytronix for example, where we’re using the variable speed drive technology to offer energy reductions for hydraulic motor-pump sets.

What are some technical capabilities or key features of these product ranges you just spoke about?

So, with Sytronix, we’re really looking to optimise the sizing of motor pump sets. This can lead to a reduction in the energy consumption during the duty-cycle when it’s working, which lowers the power consumption, which in turn lowers the operating costs for the user. Another cool thing about this optimisation is that it can offer an opportunity to downsize components and tank sizes. Also less oil is used across the system’s lifetime, so that’s less oil to buy up front, less oil to replace whilst it’s working and then it’s less oil to dispose of come the end of the product’s life.

How has this product range improved in recent years compared to what it used to be?

Our online configurators and size and selector systems, have gone from strength to strength in recent years. Now you can not only size the system based on your operating parameters, but you can also look at energy savings. So by calculating how the system is going to be used by taking into account variable speed, we can look to see where we can save energy. We can see direct savings in Kilowatst and display this a monetary value.

How will attending webinars help our viewers or our customers, what do we really offer in them?

Webinars help our customers keep up with the latest technologies and developments. The world is changing rapidly, and industries are evolving so fast, that relying on the same old traditional technologies can often put you at a competitive disadvantage.

How does Rexroth hydraulics product range contribute to a more sustainable future?

We are committed to providing energy efficient solutions to our customers as well as retrofits that optimise the energy use of existing machines. The Stytronix variable speed drive mentioned above is a prime example of this, offering energy on demand. It provides the required power with pinpoint accuracy and switches to standby in idle phases, thereby reducing energy consumption considerably.

What sets Rexroth apart in the world of hydraulics?

It’s really our research and development capability with a relentless commitment to innovation, We are pioneers of cutting-edge technologies and solutions and our robust R&D infrastructure enables us to stay ahead of the curve, anticipating and addressing evolving challenges in the industry. Our forward-thinking approach is evident in the development of advanced hydraulic systems, components and smart solutions that optimise efficiency, precision, and sustainability. This commitment to research not only ensures that we remain at the forefront of hydraulic engineering but also empowers our customers with state-of-the-art products that elevate their performance and reliability in various applications.

What advice would you give to young people interested in working in hydraulics today?

Be curious and ask questions; always, always ask questions. You have to develop a bit of an engineering mindset, which means you have to look to fully understand how something works. I think it can be quite daunting and quite difficult for young people when they first get into the industry because they are quite eager to prove their knowledge. I think it’s important to take that extra little bit of time to make sure that the understanding is there.

Learn more about Connected Hydraulics solutions here