Industrial Pneumatics and Hydraulics

Pneumatics uses compressed air and hydraulics uses pressurised liquid, usually oil, so hydraulics delivers much higher forces while pneumatics is lighter, cleaner and cheaper. Festo describes a pneumatic cylinder as a drive operated with compressed air usually up to a maximum of 12 bar, and says pneumatic cylinders generally operate at lower speeds and less force than hydraulic or electric ones but are a clean and cost-effective option. The course starts with this comparison and then covers each side in turn, from air preparation to hydraulic power units.

The international standard is ISO 1219: Part 1 covers the graphical symbols and Part 2 covers circuit diagrams. ISO states that ISO 1219-1:2012 establishes basic elements for symbols and specifies rules for devising fluid power symbols for use on components and in circuit diagrams. Reading and drawing pneumatic and hydraulic symbols and circuits is one of the first skills this course teaches.

Yes, particularly in industrial maintenance, where fluid power is part of the core training. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment of industrial machinery mechanics, machinery maintenance workers and millwrights to grow 14 percent from 2025 to 2035, much faster than the average for all occupations, and names hydraulics and pneumatics among the courses in industrial maintenance programs. This course ends at the relay ladders that control cylinders, the boundary where maintenance teams work.

Both. It starts with air and oil and ends with the relay ladders that control them, which is exactly the boundary maintenance teams work on.

Festo's 30-day FluidSIM 365 trial is enough for the simulation module; the rest of the course needs nothing installed.

Force, area, flow and power: multiplication and division with units.

Yes. Every module, practice task and assessment. You create an account so your progress is saved and the assessments can be marked. The certificate is the only paid item, and only if you want it.

An EDWartens Certificate of Completion, issued when you pass the final assessment, with a verification code anyone can check. It is not a vendor credential and is never described as one.

The creators named in the Credits block at the foot of this page, on their own YouTube channels. EDWartens did not make the videos and the creators are not affiliated with EDWartens. What EDWartens wrote is the study plan, the notes, the practice tasks and the assessments.

Plan on about 35 hours in all, including the video lessons, notes and practice tasks. It is self-paced, so you work through the fifteen modules at your own speed.