Blog

Yes, cavitation in hydraulic and pneumatic valves can severely damage your system by causing erosion, noise, vibration, and reduced performance. In hydraulic systems, vapor bubbles implode violently, creating shock waves that pit metal surfaces. While less common in pneumatic systems due to air’s compressibility, rapid pressure drops can still cause component wear and efficiency loss.

Electromagnetic drives in pneumatic applications use solenoid principles to convert electrical energy into mechanical movement. When current flows through a coil, it generates a magnetic field that produces force on a ferromagnetic plunger, which then actuates valves controlling air flow in rodless cylinders and other pneumatic components.

Spool valves use sliding cylindrical elements with radial clearances for sealing and provide smooth flow transitions, while poppet valves employ axial seating with positive shut-off and typically offer superior sealing but with more abrupt flow characteristics.

Glandless spool valve technology eliminates traditional O-ring seals and gland packings by using precision-machined clearances, magnetic coupling, or integrated sealing mechanisms that prevent contamination ingress while maintaining zero external leakage and superior reliability.

Spool lap configuration—the dimensional relationship between spool lands and valve ports—determines whether a valve has continuous flow (underlap), positive shut-off (overlap), or instantaneous switching (zero-lap), directly affecting cylinder control characteristics, positioning accuracy, and energy efficiency.

Proper valve seal material selection requires matching elastomer chemistry to operating conditions: NBR for general purpose applications, FKM (Viton®) for chemical resistance and high temperatures, and HNBR for enhanced performance across broader temperature and chemical ranges, with compatibility determined by polymer structure and additive packages.

Spool stiction results from molecular-level adhesion forces between valve surfaces and contamination deposits, primarily varnish-like compounds formed through oxidation, polymerization, and thermal degradation of lubricants and airborne contaminants, creating static friction forces that exceed normal actuating forces.

Anodizing and surface treatments dramatically extend valve spool life by creating protective barriers against wear, corrosion, and contamination, with hard anodizing providing up to 10x wear resistance improvement, while specialized coatings can reduce friction coefficients by 80% and eliminate galvanic corrosion in multi-metal systems.

Thread type selection and proper sealing methods are critical for pneumatic system reliability, with NPT threads using taper interference for sealing, BSP threads requiring gaskets or sealants, and G threads designed for O-ring sealing, each demanding specific installation techniques and compatible components for leak-free operation.

A pneumatic valve armature (often called a plunger) is the moving ferromagnetic core inside a solenoid valve that reacts to a magnetic field to open or close the valve’s orifice. Ideally acting as the “heart” of the valve, it converts electrical energy into mechanical motion to precisely control airflow.