In many industrial and commercial applications it is often desirable to have valves that are able to operate automatically without needing a person to manually open or close the valve. Actuated or automatic valves can save time, money, improve product quality, reduce waste and improve operator safety. There are many options available for automatic valves but which one is right for your application? What does an actuated valve require? All Actuated Valves require extra infrastructure to operate automatically vs manual operation. At a minimum a trigger, a controller and a power source are required. A trigger is the event that decides if a valve should open or close. Regardless of the type, all actuated valves can be triggered by a variety of events such as an operator controlling the valve remotely, by a sensor providing feedback to the valve or by a programmable logic controller (PLC) or by a combination of these triggers. Modern process systems often use a PLC that receives feedback from sensors then controls the valves based on the sensors and programming. These automatic systems also usually have an operator overseeing the system ready to override the PLC if something goes wrong. A controller is the device that actually causes the valve to open or close. For a pneumatic valve the controller is a small, electric, solenoid valve that sends compressed air to operate the valve. For an electric valve a relay is used to send power to the valve. In both cases the controller is often electric and is controlled by a button, PLC or other control circuit. However, some systems can use a non-electric controller such as fluid pressure automatically moving a diaphragm to operate a valve. The power supply is the part that provides the power to the valve to operate. For a pneumatic valve this means compressed air at high pressures delivered to the valve though a small tube. The torque that a pneumatic valve can develop is dependent on the pressure of the air, which can be a limiting factor for some applications. For electric valves a power cable is required to send electrical power to the valve. Most electric valves can be configured to receive different power types such as 24VDC, 48VDC, 120VAC or 240VAC. Pneumatic or electric Ultimately the best type of actuated valve depends on your unique circumstances and application. If in doubt contact an expert to help you decide. However there are some factors which can heavily influence your choice.
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