Weidemann Hydraulik a company with more than 40 years of experience in the design and manufacture of connecting plates, intermediate plates, collection plates, hydraulic manifolds as well as pressure valves, shut-off valves and special valves. With state-of-the-art 3D software, we can construct the most complicated circuits in the smallest space or control blocks up to 10 tons of unit weight.
Weidemann hydraulic components have been proven for many years in a wide range of applications. Whether filigree systems for test bench technology or extremely robust controls in rolling mills. Weidemann Hydraulik has a solution for every requirement. Our designers work solution-oriented and have many years of experience in many areas. Whether in plant engineering or mobile hydraulics (agricultural technology or construction machinery), Weidemann hydraulic products can be found everywhere. We catch up with the CEO, Eric Weidemann, to learn more about how they work.
Weidemann Hydraulik in Germany is a hydraulic manifold and valve manufacturer since 1974. Eric Weidemann, CEO, started his experience in designing manifolds in the late 1990s with his father and is leading the company since 2004 as CEO, while continuing to stay close to the customers with daily design work.
Challenges with previous software programs
Since 2013, Weidemann has been a customer of Paro Software with the team using HydroMan and HydroSym. Previously, they were using another program which was not ideal for them. When Eric and Marc met at Hanover Fair in Germany they discussed the challenges Eric was having with his current set-up and shortly after the Fair the feature that would solve Eric’s main frustration with his current software programs was addressed in HydroMan. Mainly the ability to be able to custom name cavities in the manifold design.
Another frustrating part was due to using one program and then interfacing with Inventor. The experience of using two programs left more to be desired with regular crashes and delays as the two programs tried to communicate with each other. In the end, adjustments to the design still had to be made as not all details would correctly transfer between two programs. A lot of construction hours would be lost as a result.
Switching to HydroMan
When Weidemann started using HydroMan, these issues went away. The reason is that HydroMan is a stand alone program built specifically for the design of hydraulic manifolds and does not require additional programs for it to work. This makes HydroMan “light” and very quick.
Eric summarized the advantages his company noticed by switching to HydroMan:
Stable and Quick
Regardless how many drills a manifold has, it is very quick to move a drill within a converted manifold. Also there is no risk of crashing the system due to complex design.
Prevents Human Error
Another big advantage of HydroMan is that a schematic can be drawn in HydroSym (part of HydroMan). This schematic can be compared to the original from the customer, or in fact can be created per their requirements and provided to the customer. Since HydroSym and HydroMan share the library of parts, the communication between HydroSym and HydroMan is seamless with all the valves and ports retaining the information eliminating export error, or human error.
“With these first two points we increased the quality of our construction to and were able to just about eliminate errors completely.”
Design Flexibility
With the previous set-up the team had no other choice but work in the full 3D-Model. That meant if one wanted to see where to place a drill to get through some others, you always had to turn the model to a 90-degree view on the face you want to work.
“With HydroMan there is a possibility to see all 6 faces on the screen, so I can work much faster. If I want I can have the 3D-View on a second screen. I personally use this only for the last control.”
In Inventor you have to create a sketch in the correct position if you want to see a cross section. In HyroMan you click a drill and press X, Y or Z.
Lower Costs
Cost is another advantage of HydroMan. With HydroMan there are two simple payment plans, either monthly, or to own the software with a one time fee. Both plans come with a Service and Maintenance fee that is much lower than with our previous set-up. Also with HydroMan there is no need to purchase any additional programs.
Flexible and reliable support
One of the big advantages of HydroMan is also the flexibility of Paro Software as a software partner. Previously if Eric had an idea for improvement, there was a very slow process of communicating between 3 disjointed departments across 3 continents. It would take months to see the implementation if it was even selected. Communicating with Paro Software is very simple as they have a very flat structure where the support team, management and the programmers sit together on the same floor. I can talk to Frank (director of Technology) and he will right away assess if the feature can be implemented, or let me know about a similar other feature. If it was a simpler implementation I could see it rolled out already in the next update. Paro Software updates take just a few minutes and are done regularly a few times per month.
The one thing HydroMan can't do
There is one disadvantage of HydroMan, that is inability to create angled faces. Most of our manifolds are rectangular so it is very rare that we come across a situation where we need to create angled manifold.
“I highly recommend HydroMan”.
Eric Weidemann
About:
Weidemann Hydraulik based in Germany, working with customers worldwide, specializing in design and manufacture of hydraulic manifolds and special valves for almost all applications.
Paro Software dedicated developer of hydraulic software solutions HydroSym, HydroMan and HydroCAM.
