Manufacturing Valve Automation: A Case Study
In the fast-paced world of manufacturing, operational efficiency is crucial. When a major manufacturing facility in Minnesota faced an unexpected problem with their chiller system, the stakes were high. This problem, that was caused by an original design-flaw, had the potential to cause a plant-wide shutdown and costly downtimes. This is where Apex stepped in, bringing decades of experience to the table to solve the problem with innovative valve automation solutions. This case study highlights how Apex’s expertise and quick thinking helped the facility avoid disaster and keep operations running smoothly.
Problem:
A large, well-known manufacturing facility in Minnesota had an application with seven large chillers that were all located on the same header. When each chiller is turned on, it would cause massive vibrations. And when they all came on at different times, the forces would be enough that valve stems actually snapped! This almost caused the entire plant to shut down with major downtimes.
Solution:
Apex Outside Sales Engineer, Todd Faust, was called based on his dependability within this plant in the past and his over 35 years of experience in the automation field. He was able to determine that the actuator on the valves was insufficient to handle the number of forces created by the chillers coming on and offline. Todd concluded that the customer needed a much heavier duty valve and actuator assembly that could withstand these pressure pulses.
Results:
Todd immediately went to work and calculated the amount of force that was estimated to have been exerted on the current butterfly valves. He then used that number as his basis point for getting a proper actuator sized. The result was an ABZ 18” Dual Flange Valve High Performance Butterfly Valve with a Max-Air Scotch Yoke Spring Fail Open Pneumatic Actuator controlled and positioned by a Siemens PS2 Electropneumatic Positioner.
Todd was able to save the customer time and money by going on-site to solve this complex problem as well as properly size their valves and actuators. And because Apex has a Valve Automation Shop in-house, our automation team was able to complete their assemblies quickly without burdening the customer with the task. The new equipment has been installed perfectly, and everything is running smoothly, all completed with very little downtime.
Engineers, Maintenance Managers, and Mechanical Contractors turn to Apex to solve problems when things don’t go as designed or planned. Our team does not leave you with equipment that doesn’t work as it should. We will find solutions to keep you up and running!
Have you run into problems in your facility? Call Apex today and give us a try for yourself!
Call: 763-777-9525
Email: Sales@ApexSolutionsMN.com
Or fill out the form below and we will reach out to you within the next business day!
