Unique fieldbus-controlled proportional pressure regulator mounts directly on valve manifold

Proportional pressure regulators are used extensively in the process and industrial automation industries, for diverse applications. Typically these include controlling the contact force in polishing and friction welding, controlling web tension, providing active load cushioning and weight compensation, controlling the speed of pneumatic motors, and regulating the applied torque of pneumatic wrenches. The regulators are also now beginning to be used in the leisure and medical engineering industries.

Designed specifically for use with Festo’s renowned MPA series valve manifolds, the VPPM-MPA proportional pressure regulator features an 1/8 inch proportional pressure valve and is available with a pressure range of 0-2 bar, 0-6 bar or 0-10 bar. The 0-10 bar model accommodates a flow rate of up to 1400 l/min. By employing an innovative cascaded dual-stage regulator design – each with its own pressure sensor – the VPPM-MPA is able to maintain extremely tight regulation under a wide range of operating conditions, and provides an exceptionally accurate level of control.

Festo’s MPA valve manifolds feature a built-in serial bus system, which accommodates all the fieldbus/Ethernet connections required by the modules that go to make up the system; these can include digital and analogue I/O modules, pressure sensors and regulators, as well as the valves themselves. This feature is unique – there are no competitive products on the market that offer a comparable level of pneumatic and electrical functional integration – and significantly reduces installation time and cost.

VPPM-MPA proportional pressure regulators can either be commissioned remotely via fieldbus or Ethernet, or locally by using Festo’s CPX-MMI handheld control unit. Programmable functions include setpoint, upper and lower limits, and a choice of three preset response profiles to facilitate fine tuning of the system without the need to set up complex PID loops. Both the programmed setpoint and the actual pressure value can be monitored locally or remotely, and users can choose to display pressure units in bar, MPa or psi. The regulators are capable of returning a comprehensive range of diagnostic data via fieldbus or Ethernet, and are also equipped with front-panel LEDs to indicate power and operational status.

Festo’s VPPM-MPA proportional pressure regulators can be freely mixed with standard and proportional valves on the same manifold. They can also be used for multiplexing, whereby a single VPPM-MPA module can sequentially switch to several different pressure settings – even across multiple MPA valve manifolds – to facilitate highly cost-effective pneumatic actuator control schemes.

Festo is seeing a very high level of interest in this product, even before its formal market introduction, and believes that it is likely to open up new markets for proportional pneumatics technology.