The valves are used across the dairy, food, beverage, home and personal care, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and many other industries.
Purpose-designed to digitalise essential on-off valve monitoring, the ThinkTop V20 sensing unit provides a pragmatic approach to enhancing the reliability of valve status and position. This new addition to the advanced Alfa Laval ThinkTop V-series paves the way to a higher level of process control for manufacturers who rely on visual and signal feedback of open or closed valve positions.
Ebbe Bundesen, portfolio manager, valves and automation, Alfa Laval, says: “The intuitive ThinkTop V20 is a faster, more intelligent valve indication unit than what is available today. It brings reliable process control to a higher level with fast, accurate, intuitive live setup, the convenience of real-time valve position monitoring, and access to real-time and historical data from the control room.”
The company says that commissioning the ThinkTop V20 takes only seconds, by simply installing, activating and deactivating the unit. Apparently, sensors automatically recognise the valve type and size, calibrate and record valve opening and closing distances, and complete setup without requiring manual interaction. Moreover, replacing or hot-swapping the valve top without disrupting production is possible. No expertise, training, adapters or special tools are required.
It is part of the ThinkTop V-series family. Communication protocols including digital, AS-Interface or IO-Link are available. The V20 is hermetically sealed to ensure reliable readings of the valve position and prevent the risk of water, dust and other unauthorized access into the unit. Using the point-to-point IO-Link communication protocol allows the connection of sensors to automation systems.