April 1, 2019: CLEVELAND — The International Industrial Color Consortium (IICC) has released its component forecast for 2019 in the April 1st issue of Design World. The Consortium’s Chief Color Officer, Kevin Manfredjensenjen, explained that many of the fluid power and motion control component producers are moving toward bolder tones from previous years.
“We’ve seen a steady move into grays across the industry,” said Manfredjensenjen. “It’s very exciting for us to witness this. And with motors and bearings especially, it’s clear that metallic shades are going to be in this year.”
The consortium is comprised of 18 color professionals from across the globe who determine the latest trends in engineered component colors on an annual basis. Among their color predictions for 2019 are the following:
Bearings: Charcoal
AC motors: Stone
DC motors: Steel gray
Ball screws: Anchor
Linear motors: Pewter
Clutches: Graphite
Hydraulic cylinders: Campfire smoke
Pneumatic valves: Sidewalk gray
Mechanical couplings: Deep cavern
Manifolds: Koala gray
Linear slides: Steel
Gearmotors: Fog
Sensors: Slate
Bar stock: Lava stone
Transducers: Smoke
Pneumatic cylinders: Shark gray
Quick-connect couplings: Nimbus cloud
Shock absorbers: Iron
FRLs: Dark platinum
Hydraulic power units: Cinder block
Lead screws: Fossil
Hydraulic valves: Ashen
Accumulators: Rocky slope
Drives: Coal
Encoders: Cloudy gray
Electric actuators: Cathedral gray
Hydraulic flanges: Tarnished silver
Francois de les Poissons, the Vice Chair of the IICC, noted that there is a drastic shift from the 2018 color palettes seen across the entire engineering space.
“It’s really remarkable what has been reverberating across the industry,” he said. “We’re seeing a huge influx of gray, whereas last year, grey was the clear winner across so much of motion control and fluid power componentry. This kind of seismic shift will be talked about in the color world for decades. It remains to be seen what effect, if any, this will have on overall system performance.”
For more details, please visit designworldonline.com.
Filed Under: Ballscrews • leadscrews, NEWS • PROFILES • EDITORIALS
