New Pneumatic Valve Island Offers Improved Flexibility and Process Safety

The automation of manufacturing processes using pneumatic control has delivered many benefits, especially in hygienic applications where improved productivity, cleanliness and safety have been achieved. The launch of Bürkert’s Type 8652 AirLINE valve island builds on this progress with greatly improved communications, diagnostics and safety features.

As the concept of Industry 4.0 is used to drive increased connectivity and information flow in industrial processes, so manufacturers of process control equipment need to keep pace with this fast-moving market trend. Bürkert aims to set the benchmark for speed of installation and flexibility in operation by working closely with customers to deliver tailored automated processes.

The Type 8652 AirLINE valve island is designed to offer simplified integration with extensive communications compatibility that includes six different protocols: PROFIBUS DP, Industrial Ethernet (PROFINET I/O, EtherNet IP, Modbus TCP, EtherCAT) and Bürkert’s own CANopen / büS common to its own devices. This latest innovation combines established technologies with new functions that reduce commissioning time and improve process safety.

This latest product from Bürkert is ideally suited to both centralised and distributed control systems, offering flexible installation and features that reduce commissioning time. In addition, it simplifies maintenance and servicing as well as allowing a redundant setup for critical processes.

One of the stand-out features is the new integrated LCD screen that displays pilot valve status, switching status of the process valve, current pressure values, a switching cycle counter as well as a diagnostic report. This simplifies commissioning and operational maintenance including fault diagnosis by providing fast status information for remote components and connections.

Further benefits come from the on-board communications that can use ring networking topology for a media redundancy protocol (MRP) that ensures continued operation in the event of a communication node failure. This improves system availability as well as the reliability of the customer’s process.

The Type 8652 is ideally suited to automated processes where plant availability and minimised process risk are important factors. As such, applications in pharmaceuticals, food production and water treatment are likely to take the lead in adopting this innovative technology.

Energy usage is low, once the power reduction feature is active nominal power consumption is reduced to just 0.1W with a rated current of 10 mA per valve. Response times for open and closing are based on the ISO 12238 standard at 15 / 20 / 25 ms depending on the valve configuration. For those looking to update existing systems or introduce new control technology, the Bürkert solution can reduce installation and commissioning times as well minimise operating costs and downtime.