A plastic extrusion company are using 50mm air operated AKO Pinch Valve product code VF050.03X.31.30LA on some of their machinery.
The engineer on site had previous experience with the Pinch Valve and thought it would suit the application he is now using it for. The original valve was first purchased and fitted in May 2017. After this, a further two valves were purchased in June 2017 for other machines, due to the success from trialing the first one.
Media passing though the Pinch Valve: Plastic Pellets
Temperature of media: Ambient
Pressure of Media: 5 BAR
The Pinch Valve is normally closed.
Amount of cycles per day: 60-80
Amount of air used to close the Pinch Valve: 7 BAR
The Pinch Valve for plastic pellets is positioned on a material dryer between a material hopper and drying canister.
A pilot spring 3/2 air solenoid valve is used in conjunction with the AKO Pinch Valves for plastic pellets on this site.
The Natural Rubber sleeves (product code M050.03X) inside these Pinch Valves are yet to be replaced, so the lifetime of the sleeve is so far unknown. The user of the valves is very happy with the overall performance of these valves for plastic pellets, and states that the opening and closing times of the sleeve are a lot quicker than expected, which has seen high achievements in the company’s production.
The sleeve is the only wearable part of the AKO Pinch Valve, giving the product an excellent total cost of ownership. When it comes to the rubber sleeve eventually wearing out, the user of these valves will simply take the valve out of line and replace the sleeve, rather than purchasing complete new valves.
See our Pinch Valve fitting instructions with videos showing the simple step-by-step guide to replacing a sleeve.
