Modifications to Standard Valve Products
In some cases, standard Plast-O-Matic products with modifications will meet the needs of an unusual application. These modifications may be simple, or quite extensive. In the air operated diaphragm valve shown here, additional seals and a threaded air housing were added, and external fasteners eliminated, to create a submersible valve specified by the system designer. This valve is used for sterilization procedures in surgical suites.
Fully Custom Designs
Some applications are so unusual that a valve must be designed from the ground up. In the air-operated diverter valve shown here, it was essential to have a valve that could operate reliably regardless of surging or differential pressures at any or all of the three ports. It was also required to be extremely compact, and have integral position switches. This complex little valve was developed for pharmaceutical processing.
Converting Industrial Designs to Completely Different Uses
From the International Space Station to the ocean depths, Plast-O-Matic has adapted a variety of industrial valve designs to meet unexpected needs in unusual places. Here’s a hand or foot operated valve normally used for filling and draining chemical day tanks, but in this case it was converted to be operated with the hand pressure of young children while cavorting in a water park. The body material was also modified to resist UV attack, and screens put on the inlets to prevent any extraneous material from clogging the valve. From the space station to the theme park, imagination is the only design limitation!
Custom Connections, Custom Compatibility for Corrosive Processes
This normally-closed solenoid valve has been fitted with true union end connections to simplify periodic service inspections at an automotive battery manufacturing plant. Internally the valve is built with a special grade of Aflas® elastomer seals to better withstand the highly corrosive acid solutions used in the process. The added costs were quickly eclipsed by reduced downtime and dramatically improved mean time between failures.
Custom Products Improve Processes and Simplify Installations
Here’s a unique polypropylene ball valve with electronic control, and a specially configured third port that is milled from solid material. It not only converts the larger piping to tubing, but also connects at an unusual angle. This particular valve is used by the semiconductor fabrication industry for deionized water rinse.