Tips for Long Life Pneumatic Actuators

Pneumatic actuators are actuators that work using a piston and shaft mechanism. It is generally divided into double-acting and single-acting.

Double-acting pneumatic actuators are open and close by supplying air to two ports on the front of the actuator.

In single-acting pneumatic actuators, the air is supplied to one port and from there the opening and closing operations are performed. From the other port, a second movement is provided by a spring located between the cover and the piston. In this way, air consumption is saved. Additionally, it ensures that the valve remains closed when power and air connections are cut off. This ensures the security of the system.

Pneumatic actuators have 4 main basic components:

Axis: It provides our basic movement.

Stopper: It is placed on the shaft.

Piston: Provides gear movement around an axis.

Body: The shaft, stopper, and piston are placed in the body, and then covers are installed on both sides of the pneumatic actuator.

The most important issue with pneumatic actuators is the sealing element. Since it is a pneumatic system, slight wear of the sealing elements can cause the pneumatic actuator to leak air.

Another important issue is bearing material. The bearing material minimizes the friction ratio of the piston in the body. In this way, scratching of the inner body is prevented. If the bearing material is worn out, the internal mechanism will be scratched and leaked if necessary maintenance is not carried out. Likewise, a damaged or chipped O-ring can cause an internal air leak. This will prevent the actuator from working effectively.

The air supplied to the pneumatic actuator should be well-conditioned and clean air. Because if particles such as dust, dirt, and particles enter the actuator with the air, this can cause the sealing elements of the pneumatic actuator to be scratched and cause wear. As a result, the product will lose its performance in a much shorter time than its useful life.

The valve you connect to the bottom of the pneumatic actuator is a smooth and balanced connection, especially the middle connection piece. If the valve is mounted off-axis below the pneumatic actuator, this will cause the piston in the pneumatic actuator to rub against the valve body, which will cause the internal parts to scrape against each other more quickly over time. Therefore, care should be taken to center the shaft when installing the valve on your pneumatic actuator.

For the daily maintenance of the actuator, the air source should be kept dry and clean, and the air filter used in conjunction with the actuator should be drained and drained regularly to prevent it from entering the solenoid valve and actuator and affecting normal work.

The exterior of the actuator is clean without dust; the actuator should not be contaminated by water vapor, water, or oil.

The sealing of the pneumatic actuator should be good, and the sealing surfaces and points should be complete and firm, tight, and undamaged.

The inlet and outlet air joints of the cylinder are not allowed to be damaged; all parts of the cylinder and air piping system should be carefully inspected to keep the air source pressure normal.

The pipe is not allowed to have depressions, keep it unblocked, and there must be no leakage that affects the performance.

Whether it is the solenoid valve, the air source treatment triplex, or the air source pipeline connection of the positioner, it should be intact and there must be no leakage.

The power supply signal or regulating current signal of the electrical part should have no phase loss, short circuit, or open circuit faults. The connection of the protective joint of the shell should be tight and tight to prevent water, moisture, and dust erosion, and ensure the normal operation of the solenoid valve or positioner.

The signal responder should be in good condition to ensure the signal transmission of the valve switch position, and the manual operation mechanism should be well lubricated and open and close flexibly.

The external surface of the valve on the pneumatic actuator should be kept clean, and dirt such as dust, oil, and medium residue should be removed frequently.

The active parts of the valve must be kept clean to avoid wear and corrosion.

During operation, the valve should be intact, free from leakage, and open and close flexibly. All valve parts should be complete and in good condition. The bolts on the flange and the bracket are indispensable, the thread should be intact, and no looseness is allowed, if it is found to be loose, it should be tightened in time, so as not to wear the connection and cause the opening or closing position to be incorrect, resulting in leakage.

The real material gland is not allowed to be skewed, so as to avoid friction on the valve stem and cause the actuator to fail or not work normally.

Therefore, it is very important to maintain and maintain the pneumatic valve so that the entire pneumatic instrument control system can be in normal working condition.

The above briefly introduces some precautions for maintaining pneumatic actuators. If you want to order pneumatic actuators, please contact us.

UG Controls is a professional custom valve actuator manufacturer. We use our engineering expertise and industry experience to continuously improve our products, striving to provide efficient solutions and competitive prices. UG is also a global supplier of highly engineered actuators and accessories to the Oil & Gas, Mining, Chemical, Pharmaceutical, Water & Power, Food & Beverage, and general industrial markets.