Festo has introduced a range of products for the high volume industrial control markets, where price/performance is key. The new product line includes air preparation units, compact and ISO cylinders, one-way flow control valves and a series of solenoid-operated valves and valve terminals. All of these products have significant cost advantages over their traditional counterparts.
Festo’s new DSNUP series of pneumatic cylinders, for example, feature technopolymer end caps, stainless steel piston rods and aluminium barrels, and have a list price which is some 30 percent lower than their interchangeable all-metal DSNU counterparts. Available with piston diameters of 16, 20 and 25 mm, the DSNUP cylinders feature ISO swivel mounting and threaded end and bearing caps to greatly simplify installation.
The company has also introduced a compact cylinder with technopolymer end caps incorporating push-in tube fittings; known as the ADNP, this cylinder costs 20 percent less than its equivalent all-metal version. The cylinders are ideal for simple automation tasks such as controlling gates and flaps, and for simple clamping and holding functions. Their high chemical resistance makes them eminently suitable for food processing and packaging applications, and their low weight will prove particularly advantageous to OEMs developing handling automation technology.
A series of technopolymer-based valves is also available as individual components, as well as fully assembled and tested valve manifolds. The new VB12 valves feature a body moulded entirely from IXEF 1022 glass-filled polyamide, resulting in a very cost-effective, low weight design. Complementing the existing 20 mm wide bodied range, the valves accommodate air flow rates from 200 to 1000 litres per minute.
According to Steve Sands, Festo’s Product Manager, “The shape of the pneumatics market is changing. ‘Fit for purpose’ has been spoken about for a long time, but as credit and cost squeezes continue, the focus is becoming very clear. The market is becoming increasingly polarised by the demand for higher technology or highly adapted products at one end, and basic low-cost products at the other. And despite the obvious sales potential for low-cost products, this isn’t Festo’s traditional market strength, and we have not entered this market lightly.
"Festo has conducted a rigorous materials R&D programme to develop the necessary computer-based modelling and analysis tools to ensure that we can utilise the right materials in the optimum way. With our manufacturing experience and volumes we now consider it technically and commercially viable to replace more metal parts in pneumatic valves and cylinders with injection moulded components. The use of polymer materials achieves only a part of the potential savings; equally important are the ongoing innovations in manufacturing, assembly and logistic processes to help hone down the total production costs.”