Miniature valves keep air clean
A new valve from Clippard Instrument Laboratory Inc., Cincinnati, helps ensure air in medical and instrumentation applications — where even the smallest particles could cause serious damage downstream — is clean and contamination-free.
The valves undergo intense
cleaning, including ultrasonic
cleansing, to remove
hydrocarbons and particulates.
Assembly, inspection,
and testing take place in an
enclosed and controlled clean
room with positive-pressure,
high-efficiency particulate air
(HEPA) filtration.
The Oxygen Clean OE Series electronic values also have an unconventional actuation system. Most solenoid valves use a plunger that moves inside a coil, making the actuator heavy and slow due to relatively high inertia. The OE design, instead, uses a spider spring and armature that reduce mass and speed response. And the spider-spring/armature combination reportedly gives exceedingly long life.
OE Series valves are designed for use with oxygen and low-pressure pneumatic applications. Three models are rated to 105 psi and 0.6 scfm. They are available in two or three-way, normally close of fully ported versions with 6, 12, and 24 Vdc.
Response time is 5 to 1 msec and power consumption is only 0.67 W.