As part of its continuous pursuit for innovation, efficiencies and cost reduction, SMC Pneumatics has announced that select series’ and products will be manufactured in-house from July this year. One of these – the SY series of valve manifolds – is a key focus due to its unique fliexbility, innovative design and the results which it offers to customers.
Meet the sleek SY series
According to Ernst Smith, product manager at SMC Pneumatics South Africa, the unique, all-purpose valve is available in three sizes, namely the SY3000, SY5000 and SY7000. Thanks to its innovative redesign and smaller size, a reduction of 29% in installation space is achieved, offering greater flexibility, increased flow rates and a more economical operation. The valve sizes can be mixed on one manifold to match specific application requirements. The manifold offers piping options to the top, side or bottom, with various port size options, achieving a flow rate of up to 1500 litres per minute.
“The valves in the new SY series offer air savings as a result of driving bigger cylinders with reduced cycle times without the need to use larger, more expensive solenoid valves. These valves are available in either rubber or unique metal seal versions with the metal seal version being particularly suitable for higher operating frequencies and extended lifetime performance; boasting switching cycles of up to 200 million cycles,” explains Smith.
The SY series incorporates SMC’s energy-efficient V100 pilot valve and a power saving option that reduces power consumption (per valve coil) to just 0,1 Watt. The option to have a single valve mounted on a base is available for such projects, and also offers flow rates exceeding 1500 litres per minute. The connection to this plug-in sub-base type valve is via the well-known M12 waterproof connector. The valve can be supplied fitted with a residual pressure release, which enables manual dumping of residual compressed air in the cylinder. This function ensures safety in the production environment by avoiding the need to use any external component or dangerous actions to get rid of trapped air when the supply pressure is cut-off.
“Safety is always considered when we look at products and customer applications,” adds Smith.
Overall safety in applications has been improved in several ways via optional configurations:
• The addition of a back pressure check valve built into the valve or one which can be retrofitted at a later stage.
• The addition of a manual pressure release valve for every cylinder where required.
• A supply shut-off spacer per valve to allow the maintenance team access to the system while the manifold is still pressurised.
• Spacers with double check valves in working lines to enable intermediate stops or for drop prevention of loads in vertical applications.
• Slide locking manual override function with double action and long distance visual indication.
Power and control options include; D-sub connectors, flat ribbon cables, terminal block box, pre-assembled leads, circular connectors and then follows all the options for serial transmission. Applicable protocols include Profinet, Profibus, DeviceNet, CC-Link, EtherNet/IP, EtherCAT, CANopen, AS-Interface, Omron CompoBus/S and CompoNet. Digital as well as analog inputs and outputs can be added to suit individual application requirements.
Smith elaborates about the company’s local production plans: “SMC answers to the needs of the industry calling for more control and flexibility with its EX600 manifold. This manifold supports both control and flexibility, and can be implemented in most applications to realise greater centralised control and important savings in terms of reduced purchasing costs and manpower.
“SMC prides itself on working closely with its customers and through our technical support structure we are able to provide solutions that improve productivity and reduce overall production costs. Once specified, each manifold is assembled from local stock and then tested to ensure that it is ready for use on delivery. Thanks to the intelligent fieldbus specification in terms of communication and diagnostic messages, downtime is significantly reduced to offer greater efficiencies in a very competitive market.”
SMC to launch in-house production facilities
To enable shorter delivery times and availability of non-standard stock items, SMC’s local production facility in Midrand will be fully operational by July 2016. The state-of-the-art production facilities will initially focus on cylinder production, manifold assemblies and air preparation combination sets. Here, cylinders with bore sizes ranging from 6 up to 300 mm diameter, with complete flexibility of rod end types, will be produced.
Delivery of these items will take place on a three-tiered basis:
1. Regular orders within three days.
2. Larger orders within two weeks.
3. Breakdowns with a same day service.
4. “SMC’s local production facilities will also be used to produce standard items to bridge stock gaps often caused by unexpected orders. Customers will enjoy the benefit of availability of such items without the long lead times. Further to this, when presented with an old, odd cylinder type that has failed after years of use, SMC has the resources in place to assist these customers to get their machines up and running again,” adds Smith.
Finally, when identifying a pattern in repeat orders of non-standard cylinders, SMC will proactively adopt this as a ‘local standard’ and produce these in larger quantities thereby reducing delivery time.
“Intelligent solutions and a customer-centric approach are at the core of what SMC stands for. We strive to proactively partner with our customers to ensure mutual success,” concludes Smith.
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