What valve type should I be looking for? 2

[itsmoked]

Season's greetings all.

I'm over here from the smoke-and-mirrors side looking for some guidance on a valve I need.

I have to electrically control grease, (Lithium Complex), going to a greasing tool on an assembly line. The grease is delivered by a pipe to 'this' solenoid valve. The hose is 3/8". Pressure is about 1000psi. I will be opening the valve for a few hundred milliseconds to feed from the valve down a 15 foot hose to the applicator.

Grease.. I am not actually sure of what kind of valve I should be hunting for. Probably NOT a piloted valve. Is this going to be a needle valve? I presume this is in the realm of hydraulics and so should be rated as such and not be some brass Asco.



Keith Cress
kcress -

http://www.flaminsystems.com

 

[roydm]

Perhaps you could use something like an air actuated spool valve.
If you had a 4 way valve you could energise it to pick up a small volume of grease then when it de-energized blow the grease down the line with air. That way you would be able to meter the grease with a timed pulse.
Come to think of it you would need a 3 way for the grease and a 2 way for the air.
Step 1 - energise spool valve opening ports A&B, spool fills with grease from A but cannot escape because you have port B plugged
Step 2 - de-energise spool valve which now uncovers ports C&D.
Step 3 - Open 2 way air valve connected to port C and blow grase out of port D
Step 4 - close air valve.
Roy

 

[hydtools]

See if a Lincoln product fits your needs.

http://www.lincolnindustrial.com/Catalogs/Uploaded/Catalog_94/pg06.pdf

Ted

 

[itsmoked]

Hi Roy. I think air involved in a 20 foot line associated with 1/4 second shots every 1 second would be a problem. There is nowhere to put displaced grease either. The shot sizes have to be varied by up to 1:4. It might work but sounds like some serious tinkering would be required.

hydtools; Those look spot on. Their site is truly ONEROUS to work with. I think I can safely say "I hate it!"

After an hour I was unable to locate any reference to them.

Since I was unable to even figure out which division sells them; What do they cost? Where could I buy them?

Thanks guys!

Keith Cress
kcress -

http://www.flaminsystems.com

 

[roydm]

OK,
So you just need to inch the grease down the pipe. I don't think simple timing will be that effective. As the grease changes in temperature you will get more or less, you need some sort of positive displacement pump. Something like a leaver actuated grease gun or a gear pump driven by a stepper motor.
Let us know what you end up with.
Good luck
Roy

 

[itsmoked]

Roy; You could be right. I hope the pressure is constant as it is provided by a big air-motor and piston plunger via regulated air. I hope the shots are good'nuff. We should make a sizable improvement over a pneumatic thumb button running an air valve over the same distance.

Keith Cress
kcress -

http://www.flaminsystems.com

 

[MikeHalloran]

Most of the grease metering I've seen uses positive displacement devices, more or less like this:

http://www.oilrite.com/air_grease1.htm

Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[JimCasey]

You might look at a nontraditional valve technology, like possibly the applicators for adhesive in a boxing application. Assembly magazine has advertisers who provide equipment for this sort of task.

 

[hydtools]

Here is one from Lube Devices Inc.

http://www.ldi-industries.com/05987.htm

Ted

 

[roydm]

Mike,
I think you have struck the nail on the head. I have seen a similar device for lubricating the bull gear on ball mills. Some even have a microswitch that verifies each stroke.
A star to you
Roy

 

[itsmoked]

hydtools; Ack! These data sheets missing key specifications. What is the working pressure of that Lube Devices? How thick a product will it pass? I've run into a spate of these sanitized data sheets lately. I will have to ask them. Thanks.

That grease injector looks like a dandy there MikeHalloran. But since the existing system is strictly an open/shut valve I'm a bit hesitant.

Keith Cress
kcress -

http://www.flaminsystems.com

 

[roydm]

Hi Keith,
The advantage of Mike's unit is it gives you a known quantity for each pulse of the 3 way solenoid. It has a stroke adjustment to set the volume, if you need more pulse it several times.
It's really a metering pump.
Roy