ANSI B11.0 and ISO 13849 define the control systems to include, the mechanical, electromechanical, electronic, hydraulic, and pneumatic components. Most safety considerations regarding machinery are linked to the movements of equipment and production materials. Think about it like this; how many safety concerns would you have about a piece of equipment that had no moving parts? You would have very few concerns except for non-contact hazards such as radiation. However, it is the inherent characteristic of machinery that machine parts move and their movements are a source of a great portion of the dangers associated with machinery. Control of these potentially dangerous movements is ultimately bestowed upon the control valves for pneumatic and hydraulic systems, and control relays for electrical devices. Because this final control lies with the valves, many safety standards exist that concern valves and valves will continue to be at the forefront of safety considerations.
Valves
Safety Valve Basics- Self-Checking, Monitoring, and Redundancy
Self-checking means that on a periodic basis (every cycle, upon machine start up, etc.) a safety monitoring circuit or device performs diagnostics to ensure individual components have not failed. Existing faults (or failures) detected will result in the machine being shutdown, preventing further operation.
Some applications may require that not only are standard faults detected, but also diminished performance faults that occur should be detected. When an application depends on reaction times (such as a stopping function on a guarded machine), the diminished performance becomes an issue, due to the engineering of the safeguard involved stopping time calculations to determine the safe guarding distance.
It is not uncommon to find “sticky” or “sluggish” valves. A monitoring system that just “checks” to see if both valves shifted may not truly be monitoring the system’s safety. Self-monitoring valves have the necessary logic built-in to check for both types of faults.
Redundancy refers to placing two components that perform the same operation into a system in such a manner that failure of either component will not inhibit the performance of the critical function of the second component. Diverse redundancy refers to a system that uses two dissimilar components in performing redundant functions to end up with the same result.
Increase Vacuum Packing Machine Speed with Dale Valve Solutions
Vacuum packaging is a process where a product is placed in a bag or sandwiched in-between two sheets of plastic, a vacuum is applied to remove atmospheric air and then the product is sealed. In an effort to increase machine speed, valve port sizes generally range from 1” to 2-1/2”.
Our customers have had great success using Dale Series valves in their vacuum packaging applications. A leading OEM tested the Dale series and reported:
“The valve reduced the time to evacuate the sealing die in a head to head test with our current valve. The power consumed by the vacuum pump was also reduced 6% at 10 cpm.”
For more information on ROSS Dale applications, please visit http://goo.gl/ThOIVa
For more information on our company and products, feel free to visit our website www.rosscontrols.com or give us a call at 1-800-GET-ROSS to discuss your application.
Reduce Thermoforming Cycle Time with Dale Valve Solutions
Thermoforming is a process where a thin sheet of plastic enters the machine mold and forms thin walled products by vacuum being pulled on the mold. These machines produce high volume, low margin products, and machine speed is the difference between profit and loss.
The Dale Valve Solution from ROSS Controls
- Compact Manifold Design- eliminating piping allows mounting closer to the mold
- Reduced Cycle Time- Less piping = less volume to evacuate = speed = profit
- High Flow- CP series 2-1/2” with a Cv of 100 = massive speed = massive profit
- Fast Consistent Shifting- Dual piston design eliminates springs and provides smooth, fast shifting
- Energy Savings- The Dale Valve Solution is Green!
- Reduced piping eliminates system volume which reduces vacuum pump and compressor drain
- True 2/2 Dale design with no “open crossover” reduces vacuum pump and compressor drain
- Reduced Downtime- Poppet cartridge design allows rebuilds to be completed in minutes
For more information on ROSS Dale applications, please visit http://goo.gl/ThOIVa.
For more information on our company and products, feel free to visit our website www.rosscontrols.com or give us a call at 1-800-GET-ROSS to discuss your application.
Reduce Leak Testing Cycle Time with Dale Valve Solutions
Practically every pressure-containing vessel is leak tested during production or assembly. There are generally three types of leak test methods: pressure or vacuum decay, flow tests, and helium tests.
You might ask, “Why are the valves used in testing so important?” Essentially, if the valves being used to control the test themselves are leaking, you won’t be able to tell if the product under test is leaking.
Reduce Tray Pack Process Time with Dale Valve Solutions
Tray packing is a modified atmospheric packaging process where a product is placed in a tray, a vacuum is pulled to remove atmospheric air, inert gas is injected, and the tray is sealed. The process helps to extend shelf-life, enhance color, and eliminate crushing.
Ross Controls 