Festo Pneumatic Ball Valves

Figure 1: Festo's brass pneumatic ball valve

Explore the advanced capabilities of Festo's VZPR series ball valve actuators, designed for seamless integration with pneumatic systems. This guide will cover the technical specifications, from connection threads and operating pressures to the materials and environmental conditions suitable for these actuators and ball valves. Additionally, it highlights their compatibility with limit switch boxes following NAMUR standards, ensuring efficient monitoring and control in automated processes.

Pneumatic ball valves are a type of valve controlled by air pressure, where the movement of a pneumatic actuator rotates a ball with a hole through its center, in a quarter-turn motion, to open or close the valve. This operation allows for the control of fluid flow through the valve—the position of the ball (aligned or perpendicular to the flow path) determines whether the medium can pass through or is blocked. These valves are particularly suitable for applications requiring rapid and reliable control of air, water, gas, and other fluid mediums in sectors such as manufacturing, processing, and chemical industries.

Ball valve actuators VZPR

Pneumatic ball valves from Festo are in the VZPR-BPD-22-R… series. The number following the R indicates the size of the ball valve's connecting thread. For example, VZPR-BPD-22-R14 has a 1/4-inch connecting thread, and VZPR-BPD-22-R2 has a 2-inch connecting thread.

Festo ball valves are made of brass and stainless steel and are designed to be mounted by pneumatic actuators. However, the tables in this section describe the features of only the brass option. Learn more about how pneumatic ball valves operate in our electric and pneumatic ball valve overview article.

Table 1: Technical data

Table 2: Materials and environmental conditions

Limit switch boxes for pneumatic cylinders

Limit switch boxes for pneumatic actuators are monitoring devices that track and indicate the position of a valve operated by the actuator. Limit switch boxes are mounted directly onto the actuators. They have switches that activate when the actuator moves the valve to either an open or closed position or specific intermediate positions. This action sends an electric signal to a control system, informing it of the valve's status. Some limit switch boxes have visual indicators of the valve's position, making it possible for a user to see it directly. This feedback mechanism is crucial for automated processes in industries, ensuring operations run smoothly and safely by providing real-time updates on valve positions.

The pneumatic actuators for Festo's pneumatic valves interface with limit switch boxes that adhere to NAMUR standards (VDI/VDE 3845), which means they can be easily integrated with a wide range of pneumatic actuators, enhancing compatibility and simplifying installation processes. Learn more in our limit switch box overview article.

Figure 2: The red arrows indicate the NAMUR standard mounting holes on the top of the pneumatic actuator for ball valves.