Gates Hydraulic Hose: From General to Harsh Applications
The journey of Gates started in 1911. Charles Gates acquired Colorado Tire and Leather Company mainly producing a single product, the Durable Tread, a steel-studded band of leather that motorists attached to tires to extend their mileage. In 1917, the
The journey of Gates started in 1911. Charles Gates acquired Colorado Tire and Leather Company mainly producing a single product, the Durable Tread, a steel-studded band of leather that motorists attached to tires to extend their mileage.
In 1917, the company began phasing out leather in favour of rubber and Charles Gates changed its name to the International Rubber Company. Gates invented a belt to transmit power to replace hemp & rope belts. The name of the new product was V Belt, named after the shape of the belt.
Following Gates, competitors started making this same style of belt. The belt’s success propelled the company to become the largest manufacturer of V-belts, a title it still proudly holds. In 1919, the International Rubber Company changed its name to the Gates Rubber Company.
In 1927 Gates developed first hose, Garden hose followed by radiator hoses. In 1934 the industrial hoses are developed and the journey of innovation and development is continued till date. In 2003 the company became “Gates Corporation”.
“As far as hoses are concerned the initial products developed for low pressure, general purpose application like watering, coolants, industrial applications etc. Over a period of time as the industry evolved, Gates came up with many high pressure, heavy duty products,” Saji Thomas, GM Product line Management – Industrial Gates Corporation said.
The recent development is X-series hoses, which leverage Gates materials science expertise and design innovations to drive value for our customers. X-series hoses are a high pressure, abrasion resistant cover hose with enhanced ozone resistance.
“The difference between the initial hose product and the latest one is compact design, extended high impulse life, and a tough cover to sustain in harsh applications. The new series of Gates products not only meets the multiple industry standard but exceeds the industry standard,” he added.
New features:
- Impulse life is double than the SAE or EN standard.
- Bend radius is much compact than industry standards.
- Gates MXT & MXG4K are compact type of hoses.
- High durability, compact size, low force to bend and low weight helps the designer to meet the space constraints, improve system performance and aid in ease of installation.
Similar to the V-Belt, these products have become trend setter in the market and solved customer needs. The industry is following to develop such “All in One” types of products.
Speaking about the industry, Thomas said that during the 20th century, the use of hydraulics grew in application due to its increasing power carrying capabilities.
“In recent past, the hydraulic industry has developed many applications demanding highly reliable, compact, light weight, durable products. There are so many standards i.e. SAE, ISO, EN etc. which define the hose specifications and performance. The designer faces the challenge of selecting a particular hose which meets all application requirements. Gates identified and accepted this challenge from the OEMs and introduced innovative products pushing the boundaries of material science,” he said.
Products like MXT and MXG4K, and many more, are designed to suit multiple applications and industry specifications. These products also reduces the variety of products on the machine and promote standardization. Gates is working to keep the product young, reliable, competitive and durable.
Hits: 19
