During this webinar we will review the key attributes of a valve including the mechanical and electrical characteristics as well as the operating condition requirements and valve functionality. You will also discover how to select the best product for an application or industry. The other topics will range from performance issues like life cycle times to manufacturing techniques, Kanban, Passivation as well as testing and certification. We will also touch upon what makes one valve operate efficiently for the life of an application while others require more power and suffer premature failure.

1. Balancing Cost, Performance
and Reliability When Choosing
Solenoid Valves

2. Before We Start
 This webinar will be available afterwards at
designworldonline.com & email
 Q&A at the end of the presentation
 Hashtag for this webinar: #DWwebinar

3. Moderator
Presenter
Paul Heney
Richard Ronzello
Design World
Peter Paul Electronics

5. Balancing Cost,
Performance and
Reliability when
Choosing Solenoid
Valves
November 20, 2013

6. Webinar Overview
Key Attributes of Valves
Demonstrate How to Sort Out Differences
How to Select the Best Product for an Application and/or Industry
Topics range from performance issues like maximum operating
pressure differentials to manufacturing techniques, Kanban,
Passivation as well as testing and certification
• What makes one valve operate efficiently for the life of an
application while others require more power and suffer premature
failure
•
•
•
•

7. KEY ATTRIBUTES OF A VALVE

8. Key Attributes of a Valve
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Anatomy of a Valve
Mechanical Characteristics
Electrical Characteristics
Operating Conditions
Valve Temperature Range
Maximum Operating Pressure Differentials
Valve Functionality

9. ANATOMY OF A VALVE

10. Anatomy of a Valve

11. Valve Body
• Houses orifice and inlet
and outlet media ports,
contains two drill and
tapped holes for
mounting
• Typically made of
Stainless Steel
o
Brass, Aluminum and Plastic
available

12. Flange Seal
• Flange Seals are the O rings
used to seal between the sleeve
assembly and the body.
Flange Seal

13. Sleeve Assembly
• Attaches to body and houses
the plunger allowing the
plunger to travel
• Sleeve assembly is
comprised of a non-magnetic
metal tube, a magnetic
metal flange and magnetic
metal end stop. These pieces
welded together make up the
sleeve assembly

14. Plunger
• Travels up and down to seal the
orifice, either starting or
stopping flow of the media
• The plunger seal is inserted into
a cavity in the end of the
plunger
• The plunger seal insert material
comes in contact with the
orifice to seal it

15. Plunger Return Spring
• A valve spring attached to the
plunger returns the plunger to
it’s original position when the
solenoid is switched off.

16. Coil
• Electric current passes through
a wire wound around a bobbin
to create an electromagnetic
field which draws the plunger
upward.

17. Housing
• Housing is used to carry the
magnetic flux around the
outside of the coil, allowing for
an efficient electromagnet.

18. Housing

19. Top Nut
• Screws on to sleeve assembly to
secure housing and body
together, also assists in carrying
magnetic flux.

20. MECHANICAL CHARACTERISTICS

21. Orifice
• Used to control flow, orifice
size is directly proportional to
the amount of flow.
• As you increase the diameter
of the orifice, you increase
the amount of flow.
• As you increase the orifice
size, you decrease the
pressure rating.

22. Ports
• Threaded holes that allow
connection of pipes or other
components to the valve.
• Ports can vary in size and
thread type.

23. ELECTRICAL CHARACTERISTICS

24. Power Requirements
• Coil Voltage: PeterPaul manufactures it’s own coils which
range in voltages from 2 to 1040 VAC 50 or 60 HZ. – 1.8
to 300 V DC
• Coil Wattage: PeterPaul designs coils for optimal pulling
force ranging from .5 watts to 18 watts.
• Maximum coil heat rise in our standard valves is 85°C

25. Typical Response Time on Air
• Indicates plunger travel of one complete cycle,
open to close. It takes 4 to 16 milliseconds to
open and 4 to 16 milliseconds to close

26. OPERATING CONDITIONS

27. Media
• Air water and other fluids
compatible with standard Buna
seals. Hot water, gasoline and
many oils require special seal
materials.

28. Valve Temperature Range
•
Standard Valves
o
o
0°F (-18°C) to 104°F (40°C) ambient
0°F (-18°C) to 150°F (65°C) media
•
Coil can be designed to tolerate
much higher or much lower
ambient and media
temperatures.
•
Seal material must be considered
when temperatures exceed above
conditions

29. Maximum Operating Pressure
Differentials
• The maximum difference in
pressure between the inlet and
outlet ports which the valve can
be safely operated by the
solenoid

30. Burst Pressure
• The maximum pressure, which
can be applied to the valve
without it rupturing.
• Stainless steel valves typically
have a burst pressure rating
above 10,000 P.S.I.

31. Leakage
•
•
•
Internal leakage; the amount of
media that passes between the
orifice and the plunger seal when
tested at pressure.
External leakage; leakage between
the internal parts of the valve and
external parts of the valve.
Typically valves are tested for
allowable leakage per UL
specifications and are bubble tight
at rated pressure.

32. Vacuum
• Vacuum at 30 inches of
mercury is equal to 15 P.S.I of
forward pressure.
• Higher vacuum levels (over 18
inches of mercury) may
require seals other than
standard Buna

33. Certifications/Registrations
Typical Certifications for Valve Include:
• UL Listed/Recognized
• CSA Listed/Recognized
• NSF Approval
• CE Approval
• ATEX Certification
• ISO 9000

34. VALVE FUNCTIONALITY

35. 2 Way Normally
Open
• A valve in which the orifice is
open in the de-energized
position and flow exists
between the inlet and outlet
ports.
• In the energized position the
plunger lifts and seals the top
orifice, shutting off flow
between the inlet and outlet
ports.

36. 2 Way
Normally Closed
• A valve in which the orifice is
closed in the de-energized
position and no flow can
exist between the inlet and
outlet ports. (no electrical
current to coil)
• In the energized position the
plunger lifts off the seat
allowing flow between the
inlet and outlet ports.
(electrical current to the coil)

37. 3 Way Valves
• A valve that has two orifices and three ports.
• One orifice is always open when the other is closed and
one port is always open to one of the other two ports.
• Flow is controlled by opening or closing either of the two
orifices.

38. 3 Way
Normally
Open
• A valve in which the inlet
orifice is open and the
exhaust orifice is closed in
the de-energized position.
• Full flow can exist between
the inlet and cylinder ports.

39. 3 Way
Normally
Closed
• A valve in which the inlet
orifice is closed and the
exhaust orifice is open in
the de-energized position.
• Can be configured to
exhaust to atmosphere or
pipe exhaust.

40. 3 Way
Directional
Control
• A valve in which the inlet is
open to the normally open port
when the coil is de-energized
and open to the normally closed
port when the coil is energized.

41. 3 Way MultiPurpose
• A valve which will function as
3 way normally open, as 3 way
normally closed, and 3 way
directional control, depending
on the piping.
• The valve can have two inlets
and one outlet. (This is the
inverse of a directional
control which has one inlet
that can flow to one of two
outlets.)

42. VALVE TYPES

43. General Purpose (Direct-Acting)
• General purpose valves range in
port size from 10-32 ports to ¼
inch NPT ports.
• Typically utilized for water and air
and other media compatible with
standard Buna seals.

44. Explosion Proof
•
A solenoid valve constructed to meet
the specifications of UL and CSA for
operation in hazardous locations
(locations in which combustible dusts,
fibers or gases may be present in the
atmosphere around the valve.)
•
These valves are designed to either
completely segregate the combustible
atmosphere from the electrical coil
(encapsulated coil technique) or
contain a potential explosion inside a
very substantial housing structure
surrounding the coil (flameproof
technique using machined metal
housings.)

45. High Pressure
• Typically having a maximum
pressure rating between
1000 and 5000 P.S.I.
• Constructed as impact
valves, utilizing a pin which
functions as a sealing
element. The plunger
accelerates a short distance
before impacting the pin,
opening the orifice.

46. High Flow
• Valves that are typically
pilot operated to allow for
larger main orifices and
therefore higher flow rates.

47. DEMONSTRATION:
HOW TO SORT OUT VALVE DIFFERENCES

48. Considering all the Variables
•
•
•
•
Flow
o Liquid
o Gas
o CV Rating
Pressure
o Vacuum
o Up to 5,000 psi
Connections
o NPT, British Pipe Thread, etc.
Valve Function
o 2Way, 3 Way etc.
•
•
•
•
Environment
o Hot, cold, extreme,
o Water resistant
o Hazardous
Size
o Packaging
Energy
o Power Requirements
Media
o Liquid, gas, etc.
o Temperature

49. HOW TO SELECT THE BEST PRODUCT
FOR AN APPLICATION AND/OR
INDUSTRY

50. VALVE SPECIFICATION
6 QUESTIONS TO GET TO THE
BASE VALVE

51. 1. Pipe Port Size
Q: What size port connections are appropriate for your
application?
• Specifying a pipe port size will eliminate any series that
does not contain that particular size port.

53. 2. Function
Q: How you would like the valve to function?
• Specifying a function will determine type of valve, 2 way, 3 way,
normally open, normally closed etc.
• If the answer is “I don’t know”, refer to the graphic for flow
configuration.

55. 3. Voltage
Q: What is the actual voltage & frequency the valve needs
to function at?
• Valves are designed to operate at +/- 10% of the
nameplate voltage.

56. 4. Maximum Operating
Pressure Differential
• Q: What is the maximum pressure the valve will see?
o
i.e.: 25 PSI., 100 PSI., 500 PSI. etc.
Never drops below
100 PSI
Valve actually
sees 200 PSI
300 PSI

57. 5. Flow Rate
Q: What is the required flow?
• Flow rate and CV questions pertain to flow characteristics.
• Flow rate is a function of inlet vs. outlet pressure and orifice size,
not just inlet pressure.
• CV factor is the quantity of 60 degrees F. water expressed in
gallons per minute which will flow through the valve at 1 PSI
pressure drop.
• Orifice size is dictated by either the flow rate or the CV factor.

58. 6. Electrical Connection/ Housing
Q: What is the required electrical connection?
•
Here are 2 most typical housings available for electrical
connections:
•
Conduit: Coil enclosure that allows conduit pipe to be
attached to the valve therefore covering exposed lead
wires.
•
Grommet: Coil enclosure with two exposed lead wires.

59. Cycle Life
PERFORMANCE ISSUES

60. Cycle Life
• This depends on the application but 10’s of millions of
cycles on lubricated media is typical
• One extreme application, a product was developed to
reach 1 billion cycles

61. Kanban, Passivation and Testing
MANUFACTURING TECHNIQUES

62. Kanban
Kanban is a lean concept of controlling inventory
Customer Experiences
•Short lead times
•Reduced inventory levels (higher inventory turns – synchronize your production more closely
with the purchased material receipts)
•Increased flexibility as product demand fluctuates
•Improved supplier performance
Supplier Experiences
•Leveled Demand resulting in:
o
o
o
Improved Quality & Delivery performance to the customer
Right sized & planned inventories creates smoother production flow & improved cash flow
Increased communication (Kanban signals) enhances flexibility & enables faster reaction to changes in demand

63. Part Finishing/Passivation
•
Passivation Method
o This proprietary method is applied to the various stainless steel
components of the valve. This ensures a highly corrosive resistance
surface condition.
•
Part Finish
o The orifice geometry and finish help ensure a bubble tight seal.

64. R&D / Testing
Comprehensive valve solutions entail:
Valve Design
•
3D Modeling
•
Application Engineering
•
In-house Prototyping/Sampling
•
In-house Validation Testing
o Thermal (Hot and Cold)
Environmental
o Moisture (Humidity)
o Vacuum to 5000 PSI Gas
o Hydraulic Oil Stand to 3500 PSI
o Vibration
•
Pre-Production/Pilot Run (3P)
•
Plastics Design/Molding
•
Magnetic Analysis
•
Electro-Mechanical Design
To produce cost effective & reliable product
FAE Analysis
Modeling/Prototyping

65. Manufacturing Capabilities
•
Machining
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Boring
Broaching
Drilling
Facing
Filing
Finish Machining
Grinding
Grooving
Honing
Knurling
Lapping
Mechanical Milling
Milling
Reaming
Rough Machining
Sawing
Shaping
Swiss Screw Machining
Tapping
Thread Milling
Turning
•
Molding
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Injection Molding
Insert Molding
Polymer Molding
Pour Molding
Fabrication
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Bending
Bonding
Conventional Spinning
Forming
Piercing
Plasma Cutting
Punching
Shearing
Sheet Metal Fabrication
Slitting
Stretch Forming
Thread Forming
At PeterPaul 85% of solenoid valves are manufactured in-house

66. THANK YOU

67. WATCH THE WEBINAR
BY CLICKING THE LINK BELOW
http://www.designworldonline.com/webinar-balancing-costperformance-reliability-choosing-solenoid-valves/

68. Questions?
Design World
Paul Heney
pheney@wtwhmedia.com
Phone: 440.234.4531
Twitter: @DW_Editor
Peter Paul Electronics
Richard Ronzello
richard.ronzello@peterpaul.com
Phone: 860.229.4884

69. Thank You
 This webinar will be available at designworldonline.com & email
 Tweet with hashtag #DWwebinar
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