Q.What have been some of the recent innovations in pneumatic valves?
A.The main move in the market has been towards smaller, more compact valve systems constructed from lightweight composite materials. At the same time the emphasis has been on maintaining or increasing the flow rates of the smaller valve systems over their predecessors, as well as reducing the wattage or energy consumption. There has also been a push towards a simpler, user friendly, manifold design for easier servicing or replacement of valving.
What these innovations have been successful in achieving is a better wearing, lubrication free valve system, which provides longer life cycles, quicker operating speeds and improved repeatability. The smaller, lightweight valve systems are also simplifying control cabinet design and integration onto robots, which had previously been an issue with the bigger more cumbersome systems of the past. So the customer is achieving improved productivity and less down time through greater reliability of the modern valve system.
Q.Are you noticing the uptake of any new technology in particular?
A.With pneumatics, the use of serial systems, such as ProfiBUS, InterBUS and DeviceNET has simplified the integration of valving into PLC systems. This has taken away the need to hard wire in each individual valve, simplifying installation and maintenance.
With vacuum, it’s the move towards de-centralised multi-stage vacuum systems, which provide far greater flexibility by allowing zoning during pick and place or palletising operations. This gives the customer the flexibility to pick up various configurations with the one vacuum gripper. The de-centralised system also provides a more reliable method of pick up to the customer, taking away the frustrating dropping or loss of products, that will occur with a centralised system should it suffer any leakage.
Q.How important is energy efficiency in the selection of pneumatic equipment?
A.These days it should be becoming an absolute priority to minimise your operating costs, and energy consumption is as effective a way to do it as automation.
With valving it’s about finding a low wattage consumption valve, which can help decrease the size of the PLC required. This in turn will cut the initial expenditure costs and further improve your energy efficiency.
There is a far greater energy saving to be gained through selecting and sizing the right vacuum system. In the past companies have tended to use mechanical “house” vacuum pumps to supply their entire factory. These pumps operate all day, running up enormous electricity bills, high maintenance costs and are historically oversized and noisy. Manufacturing companies could potentially save tens of thousands of dollars each year by installing multi-stage venturi vacuum systems onto their machines. They are a lightweight, low cost alternative, quiet and have no moving parts, hence no maintenance and minimal down time to the customer, meaning increased productivity and profitability.
There are venturi systems on the market that can operate with a feed pressure as low as 2-3 bar and minimal air consumption, while still achieving high vacuum levels and flow rates. These systems can be controlled via the PLC on the machine to operate only when required during the machine’s cycle and can be generally supplied with in-built energy saving devices such as, vacuum switches, to further minimise air consumption.
So by getting the right assistance to select and accurately size your vacuum system you can generate massive energy savings.
Q.What should pneumatic customers look for in a service provider?
A.The customer should be looking for a supplier that can provide them with a turnkey solution and face to face service. Univer have always been a service orientated company.
On top of this, a customer should be looking for a supplier with a complete range of pneumatic and vacuum products; professional design and technical expertise; and after-sales service and support.
BIOGRAPHY
Mathew Healy has been with Univer for over seven years. He has 13 years experience wokring with pneumatics, including his time at Univer and prior to that, at Nissan.
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