Festo launches entire portfolio of technopolymer-based pneumatics products

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. Festo 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.

Festo has also launched a series of technopolymer-based valves, which are 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. Festo performed extensive analysis of the valves to determine the optimum design – it was important that the chosen technopolymer provided a similar modulus of rigidity to metal, to ensure good leakage values and to prevent any misalignment of embedded contacts. This included forensic materials science techniques using dynamic x-ray analysis. Detailed thermal analysis – using worst-case scenarios of overdriven co-located solenoids and elevated ambient temperatures – has confirmed that the valves provide 100 percent reliability at ambient temperatures as high as 50 degrees Celsius.

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.”

Sands also points out that these latest products from Festo are likely to enjoy rapid market take-up: “We believe that the introduction of these high quality, low-cost pneumatics products represents a major opportunity for UK-based OEMs and systems integrators, who until now have struggled to compete with companies that use unbranded low-cost imports.”