Fast, smart, safe

Long line? The LQEc/i compact valve significantly shortens the suction and depositing time of the workpieces: It is so small and light that it can be installed directly on the gripper and provides the vacuum as required in fractions of a second.

Maximum throughput in pick-and-place applications requires a high-performance gripper concept. The prerequisite for this: extremely short evacuation and ventilation times. This is where the directly actuated 3/2 directional control valves LQEc/LQEi with integrated vacuum switch from Schmalz come into play. In systems with centralized vacuum generation, they allow the process to be monitored and controlled decentrally directly at the gripper. The design as a bistable valve with end position fixing and the additional non-return flap ensure that the vacuum is maintained and process reliability is guaranteed even in the event of a power failure.

With a maximum flow rate of 268 liters per minute, the compact valves can be used either individually or together to create several vacuum circuits. In combination with electric vacuum generators such as the Compact-Pump GCPi, operators can set up fully electric systems. The effective atmospheric ventilation makes it possible to completely dispense with expensive compressed air, even when depositing workpieces. Optimized flow cross-sections make the process fast and reliable. Connection and commissioning are completed quickly as the valve and switch are integrated into the housing.

LQEi is part of the Schmalz Connect series and is therefore predestined for the digital factory. It provides process and status data at all times via IO-Link - so not only can specialists monitor the machine remotely and in real time, they can also detect creeping changes before a failure occurs.