MechChem Africa January 2017

ES05 valves for clever, economic and user-friendly automation

Tectra Automation, part of the Hytec Group of companies, has brought the Aventics ES05 Essential Valve System series to South African shores. The ES05 series now offers a clever, economic and user-friendly solution for applications with standard requirements in industrial automation.

T he ES05 series was developed by Aventics in response to customers’ requests for a simple, flexible and ef- ficient standard valve with reduced components – tailored to their application. “The new series, therefore, focuses on ease of handling for distributors, machine manu- facturers and system integrators,” explains Malan Bosman, Pneumatic product manager, TectraAutomation. “They can configure their customised solutiononline froma set number of readilyavailable components. Assemblinga valve systemhas never been faster or easier.” The ES05 is a modular system and, as all components are unique and only one tool is required for the job, incorrect installation is virtually impossible. All fittings are of the same type and tightened with the same torque, which further simplifies assembly and prevents errors. The portfolio includes the Essential Test Box, which enables testing

for the correct function and valve leak-tightness before installing the valve systems – something particularly useful for volume users. Orders are supplied as complete assembly kits. The valves come in a robust housing made of high-perfor- mance polymers and are espe- cially stable and compact. Users connect the end and base plates, and canextend the system inpairs

The new Aventics ES05 Essential Valve System series from Tectra Automation is suitable for general applica- tions in industrial automation, logistics, and machine construction.

up to 12 single or double solenoid valves. The valves are controlled via single wiring with a typeCI plug according to ISO15217, aD-Sub connection with 25 pins with Aventics AES valve electronics fromTectra Automation, or an integrated IO-Link interface. AES supports all common fieldbus and Ethernet protocols. If necessary, thepilot coils can also be turned at a later stage to realise

– are an ergonomic handling solution with intuitive load lifting, lowering and releasing. “Theyaredesignedforhandlinglighteritems upto50kg,andsoweretheidealsolutionfor these boxes, which weigh around 20 kg on average,” explains Malan Bosman, products manager – pneumatics, Tectra Automation. “The lifters don’t just speed up the op- eration; they take the fatigue and physical strain away fromthe pallet loading process,” Piroddi continues. “Issues around worker health and higher levels of absenteeism associated with manual lifting and loading are eliminated by the enhanced ergonomic operation of the vacuum handling process.” With health and safety of labour becom- ing more of an issue in South Africa, these considerations are becoming increasingly important. “The use of vacuum handling technology is definitely growing,” Bosman explains. “With manual labour being both less efficient and less safe, more and more linemanagers are implementing it into their operations.” q mixed connection configurations. With a switching time of less than 35ms for all valve functions, highly dynamic action is guaran- teed for short cycles. With single wiring, the ES05 complies with protection class IP65, so the valve system can also be installed in decentralised locations, even inenvironments exposed to splashwater. All other connection types comply with protection class IP50. q

Packaging efficiency raised by Schmalz vacuum lifters Tectra Automation has recently supplied three Schmalz vacuum lifters to mining supplier RSC Ekusasa Mining’s packaging lines at its resin manufacturing facility in Wadeville, Johannesburg. handling, allowing the facility to increase overall packing efficiency and safety.

Used in roof bolting applications in underground mining, RSC Ekusasa Mining manufactures a range of different capsules in various lengths and diameters as well as various formulae that offer different setting times, from 15 s to 5-10 min. The company currently produces up to 45 000 boxes of

Used to palletise boxes of the company’s RocLoc ® resin capsules at the end of three production lines, these Schmalz lifters re- place more manual, labour-intensive item

resin capsules per month, with between45and60boxes per pallet. “We began building this facility in 2013, and, with a central focus on a lean, efficient production pro- cess, the Schmalz vacuum lifters were part of the design from the start,” explainsAlfredoPiroddi, gen- eral manager – resin, RSC Ekusasa Mining. “It brings the handling operation in line with international standards, and enhances the pro- ductivity and safety of workers loading the boxes onto pallets.” Thethreehandlers–theSchmalz JumboFlexvacuumtubelifterrange

The end of a production line, where the JumboFlex vacuum tube lifter is used for palletising boxes of the RocLoc ® resin capsules.

28 ¦ MechChem Africa • January 2017