Choosing The Right Pneumatic Valves

By Author: Vikram Kumar
Total Articles: 9399
Comment this article

One of the things that factory and plant operators are always concerned with is cost. As applied to pneumatics, this means being careful with the application of compressed air, because it is an expensive resource used for production. The creation of compressed air requires a large amount of energy, and with energy costs rising, this translates into a rising cost of compressed air and, ultimately, higher production costs. For this reason, efficiency is very important in any plant, and pneumatic valves have a large part to play in determining production efficiency, as poor-fitting valves can result in air leakages, wastage, and a loss in efficiency. Using only high quality valves, such as Pisco tube fittings, is among the best ways to ensure that efficiency remains as high as possible.

The need for energy efficiency was not always this great, and up 20 years ago, production managers would even leave air compressors on all the time during a production shift. However, this changed when energy prices began rising and attention was focused on the wastage of energy that was occurring as compressed air was simply discharged without ...
... having done any useful work. Managers recognized the need for a system that would control the production of compressed air and match it to the plant’s need, but this was much more complex than it sounded.

The problem with matching the production of compressed air directly to the need for it, and the reason why managers used to simply leave production at full throughout a production period, is that a certain minimum level of air pressure is necessary to keep the system operating. Once the air pressure falls below that minimum, getting the entire system back up and running can take hours. Also, the air compressors are not able to raise the air pressure immediately, and can only do so over time. It was therefore necessary to predict, to a high degree of accuracy, the amount of compressed air that would be needed at every point over the course of a production period.

Fittings are an essential part of this overall process because the joints where valves are located are particularly weak points in the system. It is at these points that leaks have the greatest tendency to form, and given the need for accuracy in predicting air pressure in the system, a serious leak could derail production by allowing air pressure to fall too low before it can be detected and rectified. It also causes energy wastage, which in today’s energy economy is almost a criminal act.

While many plants have adopted sophisticated monitoring systems to detect and identify leaks as and when they happen, a much simpler and more elegant solution presents itself in the form of high-quality equipment. This is a solution is complementary the installation of monitoring systems, as monitoring systems are useful, though they are not fool-proof. To minimize the risk that leaks might occur that go undetected by the monitoring systems, pneumatic valves should be of the highest quality, such as Pisco tube fittings, which will ensure that the likelihood of leaks developing is minimized.

Resource Box:

The need for energy efficiency is one that every plant manager recognizes, and high quality pneumatic valves will help to ensure that wastage is not caused by unnecessary leaks at tube joints. Pisco tube fittings are among the best in the industry, and you can find all the fittings to meet your needs at DAS Services Inc.!