Pneumatic Valves and Controls

Smallest pneumatic valve ever?
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The Pneutronics X-Valve is a two-position, three-way digital valve is 8mm wide and is believed to be the industry's smallest in overall footprint area

Pneutronics, a division of Parker Hannifin Corporation, has introduced the X-Valve, which the company calls 'the smallest valve on Planet Earth.' The patent-pending X-Valve is designed to significantly reduce system size while providing pneumatic solutions in one package. This two-position, three-way digital valve is 8mm wide and is believed to be the industry's smallest in overall footprint area.

This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 9 June 2000 at 8.00am (UK)
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According to Pneutronics, all the functional features are incorporated into one glass-reinforced PBT (polybutylene terephthalate) molded body, which simplifies the design and reduces the number of components within the valve.

With fewer functional parts, there are fewer potential leak points and tolerance problems.

The company says that combining the body and coil unit with the flow-through design enables the X-Valve to handle flow rates far in excess of other miniature solenoid valves in its class, at pressures from 0 to 30 psig.

'The possibilities for the X-Valve are virtually limitless,' said Bill Nissim, sales and marketing manager at Pneutronics.

'The unique size design makes it ideal for a variety of industrial, medical, and analytical applications as an all-in-one solution.

Pneutronics is confident this valve will revolutionize the valve industry, allowing OEMS to radically shrink package size.' Pneutronics adds that the small size and mass of the X-Valve enables it to respond very quickly (<20 msec) in comparison with other available valves.

Features include electrical and pneumatic connections with multifunction barbs designed for plumbing and electrical termination interface options.

In addition to attaching to printed circuit boards, the X-Valve has vertically oriented electrical pins and female receptacles, so that customers can use common connectors.

According to the company, the flanges on the valve -- combined with a tubular seal design -- eliminate the need for traditional gaskets and the high installation force typical of conventional manifold mount technology.