Rapid Prototyping of Pneumatic Directional Control Valves

The main objective of the study was to design a pneumatic directional control valve for controlling pneumatic drives and produce it using a rapid prototyping technique. As the basic design assumption was to achieve high performance through a high flow rate and a low pressure drop, it was necessary t...

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Main Authors: Slawomir Blasiak, Pawel Andrzej Laski, Jakub Emanuel Takosoglu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-04-01
Series:Polymers
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/13/9/1458
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spelling doaj-e6d1c5112aa842e9a18a5fc9c844933f2021-04-30T23:03:16ZengMDPI AGPolymers2073-43602021-04-01131458145810.3390/polym13091458Rapid Prototyping of Pneumatic Directional Control ValvesSlawomir Blasiak0Pawel Andrzej Laski1Jakub Emanuel Takosoglu2Faculty of Mechatronics and Mechanical Engineering, Kielce University of Technology, Aleja Tysiaclecia Panstwa Polskiego 7, 25-314 Kielce, PolandFaculty of Mechatronics and Mechanical Engineering, Kielce University of Technology, Aleja Tysiaclecia Panstwa Polskiego 7, 25-314 Kielce, PolandFaculty of Mechatronics and Mechanical Engineering, Kielce University of Technology, Aleja Tysiaclecia Panstwa Polskiego 7, 25-314 Kielce, PolandThe main objective of the study was to design a pneumatic directional control valve for controlling pneumatic drives and produce it using a rapid prototyping technique. As the basic design assumption was to achieve high performance through a high flow rate and a low pressure drop, it was necessary to determine two flow parameters: the sonic conductance and the critical pressure ratio. The flow rate of compressed air and the diameters of the pneumatic conduits and fittings are important as they affect the rate of travel of the pneumatic cylinder piston. The 3D solid model of the directional control valve, developed in a CAD program, was used to simulate and optimize the flow rate. The analysis was performed by means of ANSYS CFX, a computational flow dynamics program. The main elements of the valve, i.e., the spool and the body, were produced using the PolyJet Matrix technology. The prototype was tested experimentally to determine the nominal flow-rate, calculate the flow parameters in accordance with the ISO 6358-1989 standard and compare them with the CFD simulation data. The simulation results showed very good agreement with the measurement data. The CFD analysis of the 3D solid model enabled us to optimize the flow of compressed air through the valve. The rapid prototyping method was found to be suitable to produce a fully functional directional control valve, which was confirmed through measurements at a test stand. The attempt to combine rapid prototyping used to fabricate pneumatic directional control valves with CFD used to simulate their operation was successful. The study shows that it is possible to design and construct a fully functional directional control valve characterized by high efficiency, high performance and a small pressure loss in a very short time and at a very low cost, which makes rapid prototyping superior to conventional methods of prototype making.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/13/9/1458additive manufacturingpolymer materialspneumatic valverapid prototypingPolyJet Matrix
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Slawomir Blasiak
Pawel Andrzej Laski
Jakub Emanuel Takosoglu
spellingShingle Slawomir Blasiak
Pawel Andrzej Laski
Jakub Emanuel Takosoglu
Rapid Prototyping of Pneumatic Directional Control Valves
Polymers
additive manufacturing
polymer materials
pneumatic valve
rapid prototyping
PolyJet Matrix
author_facet Slawomir Blasiak
Pawel Andrzej Laski
Jakub Emanuel Takosoglu
author_sort Slawomir Blasiak
title Rapid Prototyping of Pneumatic Directional Control Valves
title_short Rapid Prototyping of Pneumatic Directional Control Valves
title_full Rapid Prototyping of Pneumatic Directional Control Valves
title_fullStr Rapid Prototyping of Pneumatic Directional Control Valves
title_full_unstemmed Rapid Prototyping of Pneumatic Directional Control Valves
title_sort rapid prototyping of pneumatic directional control valves
publisher MDPI AG
series Polymers
issn 2073-4360
publishDate 2021-04-01
description The main objective of the study was to design a pneumatic directional control valve for controlling pneumatic drives and produce it using a rapid prototyping technique. As the basic design assumption was to achieve high performance through a high flow rate and a low pressure drop, it was necessary to determine two flow parameters: the sonic conductance and the critical pressure ratio. The flow rate of compressed air and the diameters of the pneumatic conduits and fittings are important as they affect the rate of travel of the pneumatic cylinder piston. The 3D solid model of the directional control valve, developed in a CAD program, was used to simulate and optimize the flow rate. The analysis was performed by means of ANSYS CFX, a computational flow dynamics program. The main elements of the valve, i.e., the spool and the body, were produced using the PolyJet Matrix technology. The prototype was tested experimentally to determine the nominal flow-rate, calculate the flow parameters in accordance with the ISO 6358-1989 standard and compare them with the CFD simulation data. The simulation results showed very good agreement with the measurement data. The CFD analysis of the 3D solid model enabled us to optimize the flow of compressed air through the valve. The rapid prototyping method was found to be suitable to produce a fully functional directional control valve, which was confirmed through measurements at a test stand. The attempt to combine rapid prototyping used to fabricate pneumatic directional control valves with CFD used to simulate their operation was successful. The study shows that it is possible to design and construct a fully functional directional control valve characterized by high efficiency, high performance and a small pressure loss in a very short time and at a very low cost, which makes rapid prototyping superior to conventional methods of prototype making.
topic additive manufacturing
polymer materials
pneumatic valve
rapid prototyping
PolyJet Matrix
url https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/13/9/1458
work_keys_str_mv AT slawomirblasiak rapidprototypingofpneumaticdirectionalcontrolvalves
AT pawelandrzejlaski rapidprototypingofpneumaticdirectionalcontrolvalves
AT jakubemanueltakosoglu rapidprototypingofpneumaticdirectionalcontrolvalves
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