PNEUMATICS Controlled Pneumatics is the rapidly evolving compressed air technology from Festo that is opening new applications for pneumatics. The technology delivers more precision and control in pneumatic systems while offering the potential for substantial energy savings. Festo says this is demonstrated in the VTEP which the manufacturer highlights as being the first proportional valve terminal on the market, offering high precision, fast response times, and dynamic control. Thanks to this technology, the VTEP provides extremely sensitive pressure control, down to less than 1 mbar — perfect for applications such as wafer polishing or patch clamping in life science. In addition, Controlled Pneumatics from Festo uses highprecision piezo valves to reduce compressed air consumption by up to 50%. This level of control enables the VTEP to speed-up production while ensuring that manufactured goods are of a higher quality. Festo says the VTEP is an example of how its industrial automation technology makes machines and systems faster and more precise, helping customers in the electronics and semiconductor industries, battery production, life sciences, textile manufacturing, and others to gain decisive competitive advantages. At less than 120mm wide, Festo says the VTEP is the most compact proportional valve terminal on the market for pressure control with 10 independent work channels. There are three versions, with 2-, 3-, and 5-valve positions, which can all be easily integrated for multichannel applications. Pressure and vacuum can be combined in the control range of -1 up to 6 bar positive pressure. The individual valves can be controlled to control the pressure, block, or exhaust the system pressure. The directly controlled VTEP uses piezo technology which, together with the appropriate control technology, makes the pneumatics extremely precise, fast, and economical. Additional benefits include a valve that is quiet, free of wear, and has no particle abrasion. They also don’t generate any heat, which delivers more stable control behaviour over time. The proportional valve terminal is also free of copper, nickel, and zinc, making it very suitable for battery production and other industrial segments in which these materials are disruptive. During wafer production, the variable contact pressure of the individual polishing chambers on the polishing unit can be controlled extremely precisely by the VTEP. The even pressure guarantees New proportional valve terminal enhances precision and efficiency in pneumatic systems excellent quality results across the entire processing surface, even when polishing delicate wafers. VTEP terminal valves can also be used as pilot valves for larger media valves. In photolithography, for example, a light-resistant layer has to be precisely applied to wafers. A VTEPcontrolled suck-back function ensures that no excess coating escapes. The VTEP proportional valve terminal is also suitable for many applications in web control, such as the production of battery foils. VTEP communicates over Ethercat in real time, and the valves react at lightning speed. Perfect timing guarantees significantly improved process reliability in the event of unexpected forces acting on the web. Controlled Pneumatics represents a significant development in the pneumatic sector, offering improved precision and energy efficiency. The VTEP proportional valve terminal is an important contribution, combining several valves together into a compact and easily controlled solution that is easier and faster for machine builders to integrate into their control architecture. For further information please visit: www.festo.com/vtep 26 HYDRAULICS & PNEUMATICS September 2024 www.hpmag.co.uk YOUR INDUSTRY || OUR SOLUTIONS Explore our range of Hydraulic, Thermoplas琀c, PTFE & Industrial hoses +44 (0)1202 478334 uk@polyhose.com www.polyhose.com Feature rich hoses tailored to meet the needs of the Hydraulic, Je ng & UHP, Torque, Rescue, Paint spray, Gas, Fuel, Pharma & Chemical industries
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