Handling / Material: Pharmaceutical powders
Client / Industry: OEM, Pharmaceutical processing
Geo Location: UK
Application required:
- Dosing valve for use in glovebox
- All actuator and control components to be located outside glovebox, with airtight pass-through
- Retractable sleeve to protect rotating parts from possible contact with operator
The problem:
The inside of a glovebox is not a suitable environment for a pneumatic actuator as it tends to be a dusty confined space with poor access for maintenance. By the same token, a pneumatic actuator is not a suitable device to install inside a glovebox processing pharmaceutical ingredients as it contains oil with all the attendant possibility of leakage, and it requires high pressure air to operate, and a suitable exhaust system.
Fitting the actuator on the outside requires is by far the better option but this requires an airtight pass-through for the drive to the inside of the glovebox and also needs to allow for easy separation of valve from actuator for maintenance and cleaning and naturally it is vital that there be no possibility of damage to products or injury to personnel as a result of the presence of rotating components.
The solution:
The valve itself is a dosing valve which fitted easily by triclover connections to the host system inside the glove box.
An extended drive shaft was produced for the valve which interfaced with the actuator by means of a pass-though unit welded to the side of the glovebox with ball bearings to ensure smooth operation.
The whole drive was protected by a retractable steel tube which can be slid aside to gain access to the coupling, which enables easy and quick connection or removal of the valve.
There are no small parts and so all operations can easily be performed wearing gloves.
All wetted parts were polished to a high mirror finish.
The result
All the conflicting requirements of the original customer requirement have been fully met by this customisation. The satisfactory outcome of the initial project has led to further orders which are now in the pipeline.
