Do air cylinder breather vents become clogged?

[LONDONDERRY]

Greeting.
We are using a Festo air n/c pinch valve in a harsh environment with copper oxide powder. I've noticed the breather vent seems to be dirty with CuO powder and might be effecting the pinch valve orifice opening size and the time to open. my question is do breather vents become clogged over time?

BR
Frank

 

[CWB1]

Everything becomes clogged operating over time in a dirty environment unless cleaned, its why cleanliness is the first and biggest maintenance item on most PM logs.

 

[TugboatEng]

Absolutely. We has to switch our mufflers on quick release valves from sintered to wire mesh type because the clogging was so bad.