PNEUMATICS The VTEP delivers highly sensitive pressure regulation, down to less than 1 mbar, making it suitable for specialised applications such as wafer polishing or patch clamping in life sciences. Moreover, the integration of high-precision piezo valves in Festo’s Controlled Pneumatics can reduce compressed air consumption by up to 50%. This combination of control and efficiency enables the VTEP to improve production speeds while maintaining consistent quality across processes. Festo’s technology supports a range of industries, including electronics, semiconductors, battery production, life sciences, and textiles, by helping customers to optimise machine performance and gain efficiency advantages in increasingly competitive markets. Pressure and vacuum control options At less than 120mm in width, the VTEP is one of the most compact proportional valve terminals on the market, providing pressure control across 10 independent work channels. It is available in three configurations, with 2-, 3-, and 5-valve positions, and is easily adaptable for multichannel applications. The system accommodates both pressure and vacuum control, offering a range from -1 bar to 6 bar positive pressure. The individual valves can be adjusted to regulate, block, or exhaust system pressure, depending on the specific requirements of the task. The VTEP’s use of piezo technology, combined with advanced control mechanisms, allows for precise, fast, and energy-efficient pneumatic operation. Additional features include silent, wear-free valves with no particle abrasion, and the absence of heat generation contributes to stable long-term performance. The terminal’s design is free from copper, nickel, and zinc, making it particularly suitable for industries like battery production, where these materials could interfere with processes. High-precision proportional valve terminal unveiled Versatile applications In wafer production, the VTEP is able to finely control the variable contact pressure within individual polishing chambers, ensuring uniform results across the entire surface, even with delicate materials. The terminal can also act as a pilot valve for larger media valves, as seen in photolithography, where it ensures a lightsensitive coating is precisely applied. In this context, the VTEP’s suck-back function helps prevent excess coating from escaping, improving accuracy. The VTEP also supports web control applications, such as in the production of battery foils. Its real-time EtherCAT communication ensures rapid valve responses, which enhances process reliability even when unexpected forces act on the web. Festo's Controlled Pneumatics offers enhanced control over compressed air and neutral gases, and the VTEP proportional valve terminal is a key part of this development. By combining multiple valves into a compact, easily integrated unit, the VTEP simplifies implementation for machine builders and offers a practical, energy-efficient solution to improve control system performance. For further information please visit: www.festo.com/vtep Festo’s Controlled Pneumatics is an advancing compressed air technology that is enabling new possibilities for pneumatic applications. This development offers greater precision and control than previously available, alongside the potential for significant energy savings. A notable example of this technology is the VTEP, a proportional valve terminal that provides high accuracy, fast response times, and dynamic control, marking an important step forward for industries reliant on pneumatics. H&P reports. 26 HYDRAULICS & PNEUMATICS October 2024 www.hpmag.co.uk The VTEP proportional valve terminal is very compact and offers 10 working channels on an overall width of less than 120 mm In battery production, the VTEP is suitable for the web control of battery foils, for example. High-precision control of 5 pressure zones enables the VTEP to achieve extremely gentle polishing of wafers
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