MechChem Africa

MechChem Africa

•

January 2017

he ES05 series was developed by

Aventics in response to customers’

requests for a simple, flexible and ef-

ficient standard valve with reduced

components – tailored to their application.

“The new series, therefore, focuses on ease

of handling for distributors, machine manu-

facturers and system integrators,” explains

Malan Bosman, Pneumatic product manager,

TectraAutomation. “They can configure their

customised solutiononline froma set number

of readilyavailable components. Assemblinga

valve systemhas never been faster or easier.”

The ES05 is a modular system and, as all

components are unique and only one tool is

required for the job, incorrect installation

is virtually impossible. All fittings are of the

same type and tightened with the same

torque, which further simplifies assembly

and prevents errors. The portfolio includes

the Essential Test Box, which enables testing

Tectra Automation, part of the Hytec Group of companies, has brought

the Aventics ES05 Essential Valve System series to South African shores.

The ES05 series now offers a clever, economic and user-friendly solution

for applications with standard requirements in industrial automation.

Packaging efficiency

raised by Schmalz vacuum lifters

Tectra Automation has recently supplied

three Schmalz vacuum lifters to mining

supplier RSC Ekusasa Mining’s packaging

lines at its resin manufacturing facility in

Wadeville, Johannesburg.

Used to palletise boxes of the company’s

RocLoc

resin capsules at the end of three

production lines, these Schmalz lifters re-

place more manual, labour-intensive item

handling, allowing the facility to increase

overall packing efficiency and safety.

Used in roof bolting applications in

underground mining, RSC Ekusasa Mining

manufactures a range of different capsules

in various lengths and diameters as well as

various formulae that offer different setting

times, from 15 s to 5-10 min. The company

currently produces up to 45 000 boxes of

resin capsules per month, with

between45and60boxes per pallet.

“We began building this facility

in 2013, and, with a central focus

on a lean, efficient production pro-

cess, the Schmalz vacuum lifters

were part of the design from the

start,” explainsAlfredoPiroddi, gen-

eral manager – resin, RSC Ekusasa

Mining. “It brings the handling

operation in line with international

standards, and enhances the pro-

ductivity and safety of workers

loading the boxes onto pallets.”

Thethreehandlers–theSchmalz

JumboFlexvacuumtubelifterrange

– are an ergonomic handling solution with

intuitive load lifting, lowering and releasing.

“Theyaredesignedforhandlinglighteritems

upto50kg,andsoweretheidealsolutionfor

these boxes, which weigh around 20 kg on

average,” explains Malan Bosman, products

manager – pneumatics, Tectra Automation.

“The lifters don’t just speed up the op-

eration; they take the fatigue and physical

strain away fromthe pallet loading process,”

Piroddi continues. “Issues around worker

health and higher levels of absenteeism

associated with manual lifting and loading

are eliminated by the enhanced ergonomic

operation of the vacuum handling process.”

With health and safety of labour becom-

ing more of an issue in South Africa, these

considerations are becoming increasingly

important. “The use of vacuum handling

technology is definitely growing,” Bosman

explains. “With manual labour being both

less efficient and less safe, more and more

linemanagers are implementing it into their

operations.”

The new Aventics ES05 Essential Valve System series

from Tectra Automation is suitable for general applica-

tions in industrial automation, logistics, and machine

construction.

ES05 valves

for clever, economic and

user-friendly automation

for the correct function and valve

leak-tightness before installing

the valve systems – something

particularly useful for volume

users. Orders are supplied as

complete assembly kits.

The valves come in a robust

housing made of high-perfor-

mance polymers and are espe-

cially stable and compact. Users

connect the end and base plates,

and canextend the system inpairs

up to 12 single or double solenoid valves. The

valves are controlled via single wiring with a

typeCI plug according to ISO15217, aD-Sub

connection with 25 pins with Aventics AES

valve electronics fromTectra Automation, or

an integrated IO-Link interface.

AES supports all common fieldbus and

Ethernet protocols. If necessary, thepilot coils

can also be turned at a later stage to realise

mixed connection configurations. With a

switching time of less than 35ms for all valve

functions, highly dynamic action is guaran-

teed for short cycles. With single wiring, the

ES05 complies with protection class IP65,

so the valve system can also be installed in

decentralised locations, even inenvironments

exposed to splashwater. All other connection

types comply with protection class IP50.

The end of a production line, where the JumboFlex

vacuum tube lifter is used for palletising boxes of

the RocLoc

resin capsules.