Valve terminal
definition
The valve terminal is a term from the field of pneumatics and describes a combination of several valves in one place, e.g. B. on a common plate. The advantage is that the air supply to the valves, i.e. the supply air, can take place centrally. This means that all valves on the valve terminal can be supplied with a common connection, which saves a lot of individual hose lines and connectors.
The electrical supply is also centralized. The control of the valves is also important; these can be combined to form a common line ( multipole ). But what is increasingly used is control via a bus .
Thanks to bus systems, many other functions, such as those of proportional valves, pressure measuring sensors or even entire servopneumatic controls, can now be easily integrated on a valve terminal. Technologically, this advance is known as function integration and enables valve terminals to move towards an automation platform. In today's industry, valve terminals are very important because they enable costs to be reduced through functional integration.
The inventor of the valve terminal is the Swabian automation company Festo , which launched the first valve terminal in 1989 and has continued to develop it since then.
scope of application
Valve terminals are used in both process and factory automation. They are always used when high demands are placed on the automation as well as the operational safety of the entire system.
Individual evidence
- ↑ P. Wahl; Function integration brings time advantages in all areas
- ↑ Festo : Valve terminals (accessed on January 31, 2018)
- ↑ Valve terminal basics: definition, structure and advantages - Bürkert. Retrieved August 13, 2019 .