A pneumatic solenoid valve uses electrical energy to open a valve under positive or negative air pressure. It works through electrical induction and can act as a safety valve in industrial systems. They come in different sizes and complexities, with some controlling multiple inlet and outlet ports.
A pneumatic solenoid valve is a type of standard electromechanical solenoid which, when actuated by electrical energy, opens a valve under positive or negative air pressure. In standard industrial applications, they have been used for many years as a type of on/off switch for air powered systems such as air drills. They have also been commonly employed in fluid control systems such as to release hot and cold water into a wash tub in an automatic washing machine or for outdoor lawn sprinkler systems.
A solenoid valve typically works using the process of electrical induction. It consists of winding wire around a moving shaft similar to the design of an electric motor assembly. As electrical energy passes through the winding, it creates a magnetic field that pushes on the shaft, which acts as a form of actuator arm to activate a switch, valve, or other mechanical unit. The pneumatic solenoid valve differs from the traditional solenoid valve in that the actuator controls a valve which is under a certain pressure level. It can work to release pressure and allow gas or liquid to flow when electric current is applied, or the pressure itself can reverse the valve and create an electrical signal that is channeled to a monitoring station.
Some pneumatic valve assemblies are also small control units that act as triggers for larger solenoids, and together these types of pneumatic solenoid valve designs are often referred to as a pilot valve or compressed air pilot valve. Pilot valves can be stackable, which means they can be arranged in series on a pipeline or other fluid or gas flow assembly so that pressure and flow can be channeled to key points in an industrial process. A single pneumatic solenoid valve installed as a pilot valve often also has a manual level of actuator control. This means that the unit’s solenoid function, where the actuator opens and closes the valve, can be controlled manually by pressing a button or by moving a mechanical arm. In more sophisticated industrial systems, however, the pilot valve unit is electrically controlled through a series of programmable settings to power the solenoid when needed to open or close the valve.
In automated industrial plants where there are large quantities of inaccessible piping that must be remotely controlled, pneumatic solenoid valve systems are often chosen, as they can be operated by the ambient pressure building up in the system itself and do not require external power. This allows them to act as a sort of safety valve to release pressure when needed, and in the process, the mechanical motion of the pressure release can activate the electromechanical function of the solenoid so that a short electrical signal is transmitted to a control station. control to indicate that the valve state has changed. They also perform a reverse function where they can be opened or closed by the control station if an operator determines that a system is malfunctioning.
Solenoid valve parts can range from very small units to fast microcontroller systems, where they are 0.4 inches (10 millimeters) in diameter and can operate on low-level direct current (DC) voltages as low as 12 volts. The high output, industrial grade valves at the opposite end of the spectrum are made from hardened steel alloys. They can withstand pressures up to 4,500 pounds per square inch (316 kilograms per square centimeter) and temperatures up to 1,200° Fahrenheit (649° Celsius).
The types of solenoids used in electromechanical systems vary greatly depending on the needs of the system. One pneumatic solenoid valve can control multiple inlet and outlet ports, with complexities ranging up to a 5/3 air valve system. A 5/3 pneumatic solenoid valve has 2 exhaust ports through which gas or fluid is regulated as it leaves, 2 supply ports that act as actuators for the system, and 1 supply port for incoming gas or fluid pressure. fluid. Most pneumatic solenoids are built on a 2/2 design, however, with an input port, an output port, and a pilot port that acts as a shifter mechanism to fully open or close the system. Depending on the needs of the machinery, the pneumatic solenoid valve is designed with a normally open (NO) or normally closed (NC) latent state that holds against pressure when not energized.
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