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Pneumatic valves play an indispensable role in the operation of pneumatic components, and they are absolutely essential in the design of any system driven by pneumatics. These valves control the flow of air through a pneumatic system, and without them, there would be no way to turn pneumatic equipment on and off without turning the air compressor providing the compressed air on or off. The valves that were developed were simple and straightforward, but as pneumatic design progressed and became more complex, different types of valves were designed and developed to facilitate such designs. Two Way Valves Two way valves, as the name suggests, have just two ports – supply and output ports. Air enters the valve through the supply port, and is then directed through the valve and out through the output port. This is the most simple and basic valve design, and also necessitates an exhaust port on whatever equipment is connected to the valve. If, for example, the equipment in question is a pneumatic hand drill, then the drill would have to have a port for exhaust air to be released, otherwise the entire system would malfunction as air built up inside the system with nowhere to go. Three Way Valves In more complex systems, it is sometimes insufficient for exhaust ports to be located on the equipment itself, and three way valves solve that difficulty by having supply, output and exhaust ports. This way, excess air can be released from the valve itself, allowing for a more intricate system design. These types of valves are commonly found on pneumatic lifts and air brakes. Passing And Non-Passing Valves Passing and non-passing valves do not actually describe separate categories of valves, but are sub-categories of two way and three way valves. A passing valve describes a valve that when at rest, will be fully open, allowing air to flow. When the valve is energized, the valve will then close and air will not flow through it. In contrast, a non-passing valve is closed when at rest, so air does not flow through it. When energized, a non-passing valve then opens and allows air to flow through. Four Way Valves Four way valves feature one supply port, one exhaust port, and two output ports. The output ports are used to perform work by channeling air to pneumatic equipment, making this type of valve particularly popular in manufacturing. This is because it allows for the operation of dual-action equipment. Dual-action equipment describes equipment that requires a flow of air to move in one direction, and a separate flow of air to move in another direction. For example, a cylinder might use one flow of air to extend in one direction, and require a separate airflow to retract itself. System Design These different types of pneumatic valves allow for complex system design, and engineers will typically make use of all these types of valves and more when they design and build complex manufacturing assemblies and other large-scale projects. As with all other pneumatic components, quality is extremely important with pneumatic valves, so you should ensure that you only buy quality products, instead of risking your entire operation with cheaper low-quality components. Pneumatic valves are among the most important and useful Pneumatic components , and you will find them on every piece of pneumatic equipment, from industrial manufacturing plants to pneumatic hand tools, and the best place to obtain such components is undoubtedly DAS Services Inc!
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