Pneumatic valve islands get smarter and more robust

Two ranges of pneumatic valve islands have been launched that offer designers a heavy duty option targeted at the food industry and an intelligent series that is ideal for users that need to divide the valve island in two, to have the valves closer to the actuators. Metal Work Pneumatic's heavy duty 'Multimach' (HDM) valve island is designed specifically for applications where there is high mechanical resistance. Each valve is enclosed in a protective, IP65 rated, reinforced plastic shell, which cushions impact and prevents the ingress of dirt. The external configuration is smooth and rounded, with no recess cavities, making the unit ideal for use in the food industry, where frequent wash downs are required without leaving any residue. The materials used in the design, including the grease, are non-toxic. But there's another real advantage from the HDM. The valve is actuated by an electronic speed-up system that gives a current peak for a few milliseconds and then stabilises at very low voltages. This results in an actuation response time of 5ms, which the firm claims is "a record for 800Nl/min valves". Absorbed power is only 0.15W, in other words, very little is generated. Connection type can be PNP or NPN and no settings are required. The other new valve island range, the 'Clever Multimach' (CM) has everything the HDM has to offer, but can also be expanded. On each valve the system signals whether the command is active, whether a contact is broken or whether a pilot has short-circuited. The end user can select the numbering of the pilots, progressive from left to right or to ISO 326. According to Brian Ingram, UK MD at Metal Work Pneumatic, the CM is "ideal for anyone needing to divide the island in two, to have the valves closer to the actuators. The two can be linked by an ordinary cable for serial transmission. The CM does not require a Fieldbus connection. There are two, 25-pin cup connectors, one for the valves and one for the inputs, protected by an IP65 shell. If the customer requires a Fieldbus connection, the conversion is easier because the island already has serial transmission."