Latest FMI Catalog Features Three New Products

FMI has published a catalogue including three new products: the PDS-100 programmable dispensing system, the Chloritrol valveless metering system and the Smooth-flo PDS Dispensing and Metering System. The PDS-100 uses precision stepper-motors to control delivery from 500 nanoliters per dispense up to two litres per minute continuous flow. It is available in single and dual-channel configurations.

The Chloritrol is a valveless metering system for accurate, maintenance-free injection of liquid sodium and calcium hypochlorite for treatment of municipal drinking water. The Smooth-flo PDS Pulse-Free Dispensing and Metering System utilises dual FMI pumps, precisely synchronised, to eliminate pulsation typically present in other piston pump designs. The catalogue can be delivered or viewed and downloaded from the Fluid Metering web site.

The Fluid Metering catalogue details operating principles, pump capacities, motor characteristics, materials of construction, typical applications and ordering information. Fluid Metering complies with ISO 9001 quality standards.

Steam Traps Cut Energy Costs In Rubber Production

Instead of using a valve mechanism to close off steam for maximum energy and water conservation, GEM Steam Traps use the venturi orifice design to effectively drain condensate from the steam system. Ruabon Works, a specialist chemicals manufacturing site operated by Flexsys Rubber Chemicals, is making steam savings of 12% from its batch reactor following the installation of Gardner Energy Management’s GEM Venturi Orifice steam traps. The company has installed GEM steam traps on a condensate recovery project and is now fitting GEM traps across the site.

As part of a steam optimisation project on one of its process plants, Flexsys Rubber Chemicals decided to review its condensate trapping system associated with the internal coils of a batch reactor, using 10% of the site’s steam demand. The company was dissatisfied with the three existing ball float traps, which at GBP1200 each were costly to install, required replacing every two years and were prone to corrosion. In addition, without regular routine monitoring, the company was not always able to identify when the traps were faulty.

After a review of the project with Gardner Energy Management, Flexsys Management decided to replace all three traps with GEM Venturi Orifice steam traps. Following the successful commissioning of the reactor, Flexsys decided to replace five ball float traps on a condensate recover project, this time associated with heater banks on a fluid bed drier system with GEM traps. “Once again, the GEM traps made a significant contribution to the success of this project”, said Richard Collier, Senior Process Engineer as Flexsys Rubber Chemicals.

“So much so, that Flexsys is now installing a series of energy saving projects across the site which will replace inverted bucket type traps with GEM steam traps”. Instead of using a valve mechanism to close off steam for maximum energy and water conservation, GEM steam traps use the venturi orifice design to effectively drain condensate from the steam system. As the GEM steam traps have no moving parts to wedge open or fail, they provide very high reliability, necessitating minimal maintenance and requiring no spares, testing or monitoring equipment.

“The Venturi Orifice design of GEM steam traps means that there are no moving parts to fail”, Collier said. “The only maintenance we now carry out with the GEM traps is to regularly check the strainers upstream”. Available in a wide range of sizes for a full cross section of applications, the hardwearing GEM steam traps are manufactured from corrosion-resistant stainless steel and are guaranteed for 10 years, obviating the need for repair or replacement.

Trial System Showcases Minimum Lubrication

The Bielomatik MQL system replaces traditional ‘flood-type’ lubrication, lubricating the workpiece with a very fine, precisely controlled mist of coolant. Bielomatik is introducing a trial kit which enables companies to try before they buy Bielomatik minimal quantity lubrication (MQL) technology cuts cycle times and improves product finishes.

There are also direct, ongoing financial savings since there is a dramatic reduction in the amount of cutting oil required and the disposal cost of discarded metal is lower since it is virtually oil-free. The system replaces traditional ‘flood-type’ lubrication, lubricating the workpiece with a very fine, precisely controlled mist of coolant.

The new trial unit comprises a single-channel MQL system and comes complete with ball valve, hoses and nozzles, everything that is needed to connect to a machine. MQL systems require that the tooling and spindle have through-holes, since this is where the lubricant has to pass. Bielomatik engineers will assist in the setup of the trial kit to optimise it for each particular machining application.

Valve Terminal Cuts Component Count For Designers

Festo has released a highly configurable valve terminal that offers major cost-saving advantages to automation designers and builders, who can now standardise on fewer components to reduce their spares inventory and to lower service costs. The VTSA valve terminal can accommodate up to 32 ISO standard 18, 26 and 42mm valves and allows any combination of these valves to be mounted on the same manifold.

Festo’s VTSA valve terminal is supplied as a fully assembled and pre-tested unit, enabling users to effectively replace an entire control panel with a single order. The valve terminal is fully compliant with the new ISO 15407-2 standard, which defines the mounting interface and electrical connections for five-port pneumatic directional control valves and was developed to harmonise the platform for VDMA standard 01 and 02 sized valves, which are now known as 26 and 18mm valves.

VTSA valve terminals feature robust, all-metal sub-base modules and employ generously proportioned air ducts designed to maximise flow rate. Festo offers a wide range of compatible 5/3, 5/2 and dual 3/2 valves, all of which have an operating pressure range of -0.9 to 10 bar. The valves are available in 18, 26 and 42mm sizes, with flow rates of 550, 1100 and 1500litres/min.

All three valve series offer a choice of 24V DC and 110V AC solenoids for maximum application flexibility and can be configured so that their breathing ports vent into the exhaust port instead of into the atmosphere, making them suitable for use in clean air environments such as food processing plants.

The VTSA valve terminal allows the valves to be oriented so that all pneumatic and electrical connections are accessed from one side of the unit. This leads to a very clean installation, which requires less physical space and simplifies servicing. Furthermore, the valves all feature front-panel LEDs and the pressure regulators are equipped with swivelling pressure gauges, making it easy for operators to see the overall system status from a single viewpoint.

The VTSA valve terminal can have individual electrical connections, multipin connection or can integrate directly with Festo’s CPX terminal controller, which is a modular hub with an Ethernet interface and extensive fieldbus protocol support. The controller enables advanced remote diagnostics capabilities to be easily incorporated into factory-wide local area networks, to provide centralised control and monitoring of individual valve performance. Local diagnostics can either be performed using the valves’ front panel LEDs, or via Festo’s CPX-MMI handheld control unit.