Festo launches VTEP valve terminal: Unmatched precision, speed with cutting-edge piezo technology

Festo’s VTEP is the world’s most compact proportional valve terminal for multi-channel pressure control of small volumes. Its piezo-valve technology deliver high precision, fast response times, and dynamic control.

The most compact proportional valve terminal on the industrial market for multi-channel pressure control of small volumes is now available from Festo Canada: the VTEP. A unique advance in pneumatic technology, this diminutive device provides high precision, extremely quick response time, and dynamic control with the help of piezo-valve technology.

Measuring just under 120 millimetres wide, the VTEP terminal is the newest member of Festo’s family of controlled-pneumatics solutions.

Ideal for life-sciences applications

Pioneered by Festo, controlled pneumatics is a revolutionary compressed-air technology blending proportional valve technology, sensors, and control algorithms to create a control loop; this opens up completely new application fields for pneumatics in terms of pressure, flow rate, and motions, while making conventional production more efficient. The pressure control of the VTEP is highly sensitive and accurate due to the control-loop approach – making it ideal for life-sciences applications such as wafer polishing and patch clamping.

The VTEP also delivers great performance in high-pressure scenarios. Because it contains no copper, nickel, or zinc, it is compatible with battery production and other industrial segments in which these materials are disruptive. Festo also recommends it for process-automation applications, in which paint, adhesives, or liquids for testing and analysis can be dispensed with high precision and according to individual recipes; this is not possible with electric automation or standard pneumatics.

Pneumatics is precise, fast, and economical with piezo-valve technology. Piezo valves are silent, wear-free, and without particle abrasion or heat generation, and they lower compressed-air consumption by up to half, resulting in substantial energy savings. The VTEP communicates virtually in real time through high-speed EtherCAT, and the piezo valves react instantly. If unexpected forces occur, this perfect timing ensures much better process reliability.

Its customizable control parameters make the VTEP highly adaptable. The unit supports one-to-five valves and up to 10 working channels. Festo carries two-, three-, and five-way models that can be integrated easily for multi-channel tasks. Users can combine pressure and vacuum in a maximum control range of six bar, and optional parallel connections to channels multiply the flow rate without affecting pressure control.

For more information, contact Festo.

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