SMC’s new SY series of valve manifolds will be manufactured on-site in the company’s brand new production facilities. According to product manager, Ernst Smith, the unique, all-purpose valve is available in three sizes, namely the SY3000, SY5000 and SY7000. Thanks to its innovative redesign and smaller size, a reduction of 29% can be achieved in installation space, offering greater flexibility, increased flow rates and more economical operation. The two smaller valve sizes or two larger valve sizes can be mixed on one manifold to closely match application requirements. The manifold offers piping options to the top, side or bottom with various port size options, achieving a flow rate of up to 1500 litres per minute via the biggest valve mounted on the manifold.
The valves in the new SY series offer further air savings as a result of driving bigger cylinders with reduced cycle times without the need to use larger, more expensive solenoid valves. These valves are available in either rubber or unique metal seal versions with the metal seal version being particularly suitable for higher operating frequencies and extended lifetime performance, boasting switching cycles of up to 200 million cycles. The series incorporates SMC’s energy-efficient V100 pilot valve and a power saving option that reduces power consumption (per valve coil) down to just 0,1 W.
The option to have a single valve mounted on a base is available and also offers flow rates exceeding 1500 litres per minute. The connection to this plug-in sub-base type valve is via the well known M12 waterproof connector. The valve can be supplied fitted with a residual pressure release valve that enables manual dumping of residual compressed air in the cylinder. This function ensures safety in the production environment by avoiding the need to use any external component or dangerous actions to get rid of trapped air when the supply pressure is cut-off. Overall safety has been improved in several ways via optional configurations.
Power and control options include D-sub connectors, flat ribbon cables, terminal block box, pre-assembled leads and circular connectors and they follow all the options for serial transmission. Applicable protocols include Profinet, Profibus, DeviceNet, CC-Link, EtherNet/IP, EtherCAT, CANopen, AS-Interface, Omron CompoBus/S and CompoNet. Digital as well as analog inputs and outputs can be added to suit application requirements.
Smith elaborates about the company’s local production plans: “SMC answers to the needs of industry calling for more control and flexibility with its EX600 manifold.
The EX600 manifold has both control and flexibility and can be implemented in most applications to realise greater centralised control and important savings in terms of reduced purchasing costs and manpower.
We pride ourselves on working closely with our customers and through our technical support structure we are able to provide solutions that improve productivity and reduce overall production costs. Once specified, each manifold will be assembled from local stock and tested according to stringent specifications to ensure that it is ready to use when it arrives on site. Thanks to the intelligent fieldbus specification in terms of communication and diagnostic messages, downtime is significantly reduced to offer greater efficiencies in a very competitive market.”
To enable shorter delivery times and availability of non-standard stock items, SMC’s local production facility in Midrand was fully operational in July 2016. The state-of-the-art production facilities will initially focus on cylinder production, manifold assemblies and air preparation combination sets. Here cylinders with bore sizes ranging from 6 up to 300 mm diameter with complete flexibility of rod end types will be produced.
“SMC’s local production facilities will also be used to produce standard stock items to bridge stock gaps often caused by bigger, unexpected customer orders. Customers will enjoy the benefit of availability of such items without the long lead times. Further to this, when presented with an old, odd cylinder that has failed after years of use, SMC has the resources in place to assist in getting these customer machines up and running again,” adds Smith.
Finally, when identifying a pattern in repeat orders of non-standard cylinders, SMC will proactively adopt this as a ‘local standard’ and produce these in larger quantities for these customers, thereby reducing delivery time. “Intelligent solutions and a customer-centric approach is at the core of what SMC stands for. We strive to partner proactively with our customers to ensure mutual success,” concludes Smith.
For more information contact SMC Pneumatics South Africa, +27 (0)11 100 5866, [email protected], www.smcpneumatics.co.za
| Tel: | +27 11 100 5866 |
| Email: | [email protected] |
| www: | www.smcza.co.za |
| Articles: | More information and articles about SMC Corporation South Africa |
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