Hydraulics and Pneumatics — Florida Course Repo

Course Description

ETM 2315 Hydraulics and Pneumatics introduces fluid power: using pressurised liquid (hydraulics) or compressed air (pneumatics) to move, lift, clamp and control machinery. The statewide description says the course "treats principles of fluid and airflow, the basic components of hydraulic and pneumatic systems and how they are combined and function," with students "setting up various hydraulic and pneumatic circuits" and seeing "how they respond to pressure, heat, flow and restriction." It is a core course in Florida's advanced manufacturing and engineering technology programmes, because nearly every automated plant runs on fluid power.

⚠⚠ Same course, four packagings: check which your college uses

This page covers the bare number, ETM 2315. Most Florida colleges teach the same course as ETM 2315C, with the lab built in, and that version has its own guide on this site (Fluid Power: Hydraulic and Pneumatic Systems, 13 public colleges).

College	What it teaches	Credits
Hillsborough College	`ETM 2315` lecture plus a separate lab, `ETM 2315L` (1 credit)	3 + 1
Pasco-Hernando State College	`ETM 2315`. ⚠ Its description says "laboratory reinforces the principles learned through hands-on experiments": the lab is inside the course even though the number has no `C`	3
South Florida State College	`ETM 2315` as a lecture course, and a separate 4-credit lab version, `ETM 2314C` Hydraulics and Pneumatics with Lab	3 (or 4)
13 other colleges	`ETM 2315C` (see its guide)	3–4

⚠ Fluid power is learned on a trainer bench, not from a book. If your college offers this number as a lecture with a separate lab, take both together.

Learning Outcomes

Required Outcomes

Drawn from South Florida State's published outcomes, which match the statewide description.

Explain the industrial applications of fluid power.
Apply the physical principles of fluid power: Pascal's law, pressure, force and area, flow and continuity.
Identify the advantages and disadvantages of hydraulic and pneumatic systems, and choose between them for a task.
Recognise the functions of the basic hydraulic components: pumps, valves, actuators (cylinders and motors), reservoirs, filters and accumulators.
Read and interpret fluid power circuit diagrams using standard symbols.
Analyse hydraulic circuits, and predict how they respond to changes in pressure, heat, flow and restriction.
Explain the particular nature of pneumatic systems, including air preparation, and design basic pneumatic control and logic circuits.
Identify electrical controls and electro-hydraulic and electro-pneumatic systems.
Perform basic maintenance and troubleshooting, and work safely around stored pressure.

Optional Outcomes

Build and test circuits on a trainer bench (Hillsborough's separate lab; Pasco-Hernando's embedded lab).
Size a cylinder or pump for a load and speed.
Connect a fluid power circuit to a PLC.

Major Topics

Required Topics

Fluid power principles and industrial applications
Pressure, force, flow and Pascal's law
Hydraulic fluids, reservoirs and filtration
Pumps
Directional, pressure and flow control valves
Cylinders and hydraulic motors
Circuit symbols and diagrams
Pneumatics: compressors, air preparation, actuators and logic
Electro-hydraulic and electro-pneumatic control
Maintenance, troubleshooting and safety

Optional Topics

Accumulators and advanced hydraulic circuits
Proportional and servo valves

Resources & Tools

Daines and Daines, Fluid Power: Hydraulics and Pneumatics (Goodheart-Willcox), the text South Florida State names.
Festo (or similar) fluid power trainer benches and lab manuals.
Circuit simulation software such as FluidSIM.
Symbols to ISO 1219, the international standard for fluid power diagrams.

Career Pathways

Industrial machinery mechanics and maintenance technicians (SOC 49-9041). Fluid power is a large share of plant maintenance work. See this site's Industrial Maintenance Technician path.
Electro-mechanical and mechatronics technicians (SOC 17-3024). See the Manufacturing and Mechatronics Technician path.
Mobile heavy equipment mechanics (SOC 49-3042), where hydraulics drive almost everything.
The International Fluid Power Society (IFPS) offers certifications such as Hydraulic Specialist and Pneumatic Specialist for technicians who want to prove the skill.

Special Information

Offering Notes

Institution	Its title	Credits	Note
Hillsborough College (HC)	Hydraulic and Pneumatic Systems	3	Separate 1-credit lab, ETM 2315L.
Pasco-Hernando State College (PHSC)	Hydraulics and Pneumatics	3	Lab described within the course.
South Florida State College (SFSC)	Hydraulics and Pneumatics	3	Lecture; SFSC also teaches ETM 2314C (4 credits, with lab).

All three carry the bare number at 3 credits. None publishes contact hours; the guide records 45, the Florida convention for a three-credit lecture course.

Prerequisites

The statewide record lists algebra. The physics is simple, but the calculations of force, area, pressure and flow need comfortable algebra.