Festo must be among the leaders of innovation. They send a continual stream of new product news. It’s also often pretty cool. Today, two new items from January 2023.
- Festo Introduces an Online 3D CAD Configurator for Actuators and Accessories
- Festo Introduces a Uniquely Engineered Angle Seat Valve
A 3D CAD file of the actuator assembly is ready for download at the end of configurator’s streamlined design process.
Festo introduces 3D CAD Configurator for pneumatic actuators and associated accessories such as fittings, lengths of tubing, and sensors.
The tool is intuitive and easy to use. Once the actuator is selected from a choice of either cylinder, drive with guides, or semi rotary drive, the engineer simply points and clicks on accessory hot spots to identify and select each accessory. The configurator ensures compatibility between actuator and accessory and eliminates any possible error in type code.
Actuators and accessories are shipped in a one-bag kit with a single unique Festo ID number covering all components in the kit. A unique identification number makes for fast and easy reordering. Kits are shipped to North American customers from the Festo Global Production Center in Mason, Ohio. The unique part number is recognized by Festo globally to ensure replacement kit availability wherever the machine is located.
The tool supports the most common CAD formats for OEM workflow compatibility. The single CAD file of the actuator/accessory assembly simplifies the design process by eliminating individual CAD files for the various components. The tool also consolidates and simplifies parts lists.
The Festo VZXA decouples the actuator from the valve seat for installation, maintenance, and operational benefits.
The new Festo VZXA family of pneumatically actuated angle seat valves delivers installation, maintenance, operational, and inventory benefits thanks to a unique modular design. When a VZXA actuator is removed for maintenance or changeover, for example, the stem, seat, and seal stay inside the valve body, allowing the process system to remain pressurized. In applications containing hazardous materials, those materials reside safely within the system, saving cleaning time and lowering health and safety risks of contamination. No other angle seat valve offers these operational benefits.
Reinstalling the actuator is simply a matter of screwing it into the valve body. The actuator does not have to be pressurized, which eliminates strain on the stem, seat, and seal and lowers the potential of damaging the valve seat. The modular design is ideal for valve manifold applications where speedy assembly, ease of maintenance, and compact size are pluses.
Modularity lends itself to valve body repair as stem, seat, and seal are individual components with readily available replacement parts. The valve family’s standardized design ensures every VZXA actuator is compatible with every valve body in the family. The universal fit between actuators and valve bodies simplifies ordering and inventory management.
