Solenoid Valve Technology
Advanced solenoid technology sets new industry standards for reliability, performance, and power consumption.
Electronically enhanced solenoid technology incorporates world-class electronics to achieve a dramatic reduction in power usage and a new benchmark for reliability. Rigorous testing simulated operation over 5 years without any product failures. The capability to accept both AC and DC power without losing functionality or performance enables its use across numerous applications. The technology includes 2-way, 3-way, and 4-way solenoid valves and is now available with Class I, Division 2 approvals.
Solenoid technology is an electro-mechanical device that controls the flow of a media through a pipe by opening or closing the valve orifices. The solenoid assembly consists of a coil, plunger, and sleeve assembly. In a normally closed valve, a plunger return spring holds the plunger against the orifice, preventing flow through the valve. When the coil is energized, a magnetic field is produced, raising the plunger and allowing flow through the valve.
Two-way valves control media flow in one direction. They are used to allow or shut off fluid flow, and are available in either normally closed or normally open and direct-acting or pilot-operated models.
Direct-acting valves are used in systems with low flow or when there is a low pressure differential across the valve. In pilot-operated valves, pressure provided by the valve media assists in opening or closing the valve. This design is used when high pressures and large orifices are encountered.
Three-way valves are commonly used to alternately apply pressure to and exhaust pressure from the diaphragm operator of a control valve, single-acting cylinder, or rotary actuator. They come in direct-acting and pilot-operated versions. These valves have three pipe connections and two orifices (when one is open, the other is closed, and vice versa). Three-way valves can be purchased in normally closed, normally open, and universal models.
Four-way valves are generally used to operate double-acting cylinders or actuators. They have four or five pipe connections: one pressure, two cylinder, and one or two exhausts. In Position A, pressure is connected to one cylinder port, the other is connected to exhaust. In Position B, pressure and exhaust are reversed at the cylinder ports. Four-way valves come in direct-acting, pilot-operated, and Namur-mount versions.