Press release
Better processes with ready-to-install solutions
Ready-to-install and correctly sized ball valve drive units
Users ranging from the water treatment industry to the chemical, pharmaceutical
industry and the food processing industry gain process reliability and also save time
with ready-to-install, pre-assembled ball valves. The valve drive units of the actuators
DFPB and DAPS with 2-way and 3-way ball valves VZBA from Festo are perfect
examples.
Number
06/2012
Date
4 July 2012
Our reference
The 2-way ball valve VZBA has a full bore for high flow rates for air, gaseous and liquid
media. The ball valve made from stainless steel or coated brass can even be joined to a
reservoir via welding ends. The brass design permits operating pressures of up to 40 bar,
while the stainless steel design goes up to 63 bar.
The 3-way VZBA comes with an L-shaped or T-shaped hole. The L-shaped hole allows
users to connect two media circuits via one ball valve. A T-shaped hole enables mixing
processes to be carried out – but not without overlapping.
One part number
Pre-assembled units with the VZBA and the actuators DFPB or DAPS mean that users no
longer have to worry about optimum sizing of the drive unit. Festo’s specialists optimise the
torque curves and nominal pressures and assemble the ready-to-install solutions adjusted for
cavitation-free opening without offset. The highlight of the ready-to-install modules is that
they have just one part number and are operationally tested. The correct sizing ensures fast
and straightforward installation in the customer’s application. The actuators DFPB and
DAPS offer a wide range of variants thanks to their rack-and-pinion or scotch yoke principle.
The 3-way version naturally shares all the benefits of the 2-way variant, allowing the user to
alternately open and close two media circuits via one ball valve. Both single-acting and
double-acting variants are available. ATEX compliance for the entire unit guarantees proper
discharging.
TM-IP/HAUG
Legal form:
Limited partnership
Registered office: Esslingen a. N.
Register court Stuttgart
COR 211583
Value added tax id. number:
DE 145 339 206
General partner:
Festo Management
Aktiengesellschaft
Registered office: Vienna/Austria
Commercial register court:
Commercial court Vienna
COR FN 303027 d
Board of Director:
Dipl.-Kfm. Alfred Goll
Dr. Claus Jessen
Dr. Ansgar Kriwet
Dipl.-Kfm. Michael Mölleken
Dr. Eberhard Veit (Chairman)
Chairman of the Supervisory Board:
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Joachim Milberg
Festo AG & Co. KG
P. O. Box
73726 Esslingen
Phone +49 711 347-4032
[email protected]
www.festo.com
Ruiter Straße 82
73734 Esslingen
Quarter turn actuator with rack-and-pinion technology
The pneumatic quarter turn actuator type DFPB from Festo is used for automated
flow control of biogas created in fermentation tanks, though it is equally suitable for
processes in the pharmaceutical industry or in coffee-roasting plants, for example.
The DFPB can be used to perform opening/closing movements. However, when
combined with electro-pneumatic positioners it can also be used for high-precision
positioning, especially with ball and plug valves, shut-off and butterfly valves. The
new actuator is designed according to the rack-and-pinion principle. A rack-andpinion combination converts the linear movement of the pistons into rotation of the
shaft. Quarter turn actuators based on this principle exhibit an identical torque
characteristic across the entire rotation angle range of 90°.
A high-quality solution
The DFPB offers a host of advantages that makes it ideal for the most demanding
applications. One of the major benefits is the constant torque characteristic guaranteed by the
rack-and-pinion design. The new systems are also extremely compact, with single-acting and
double-acting actuators in the same housing. A new pressure-dependent lip seal minimises
frictional loss and ensures a longer service life. The innovative housing concept means that
the actuator can be mounted on both right-closing and left-closing process valves.
Scotch yoke mechanism
The quarter turn actuators DAPS with adjustable swivel angle are compact and have torque
characteristics suitable for process valves. The torque is generated via a scotch yoke
mechanism. This is advantageous for overcoming the valve’s high breakaway torques. Given
their robustness and graduated torques, the quarter turn actuators DAPS are predominantly
used to control valves with various media flows and whose angle of rotation is limited to
90°, e.g. ball valves and butterfly valves.
For the same housing size, the single-acting actuator has half the torque of the double-acting
actuator. The wear is minimal thanks to the robust mechanical system. Selected types of the
DAPS are suitable for potentially explosive atmospheres in accordance with the ATEX
directive.
Please refer to:
Festo press photo VZBA_1.tif
Caption to illustration:
Gaining process reliability and saving time: Pre-assembled units
with the 2-way ball valves VZBA and the actuators DFPB or
DAPS mean that users no longer have to worry about optimum
sizing of the drive unit. (Photo: Festo)
Please refer to:
Festo press photo VZBA_2.tif
Caption to illustration:
Gaining process reliability and saving time: Pre-assembled units
with the 3-way ball valves VZBA and the actuators DFPB or
DAPS mean that users no longer have to worry about optimum
sizing of the drive unit. (Photo: Festo)
Press text and photos are also available online at www.festo.com/press.