Norgren Collateral

02 A white paper Assembling valves and other components on manifolds for integrated fluidic control systems helps OEM's design and build more compact, reliable equipment, often at lower cost and in less time. Today's laminated acrylic manifolds add light weight, optical clarity and increased design complexity to this list of advantages. This white paper describes different types of manifolds, their advantages and applications illustrated with examples of assemblies designed using IMI Precision Engineering's own Engineering GREAT capabilities. Executive Summary Robert Morin, Sales Director – Fluid Controls Machine reliability, ease of assembly, smaller footprint and cost effectiveness are all advantages of using manifolds. Manifolds provide a platform for integrating solenoid valves, pressure switches, check valves, regulators, gauges and other components into one fluidic assembly. An integrated assembly gives OEM designers and end users several advantages. Mounting components in a single assembly minimizes potential leak points by eliminating tubing and fittings. Reducing leaks makes the machine more reliable and reduces downtime as well as the cost of trouble-shooting and repairing individual components and connections. A fluid control system can comprise several dozen valves and components. Each of these has to be mounted and connected. In contrast, a manifold sub-assembly with components already mounted is ready to be plugged into a machine with just a few connections. This significantly reduces assembly time and labor costs while also reducing the possibility of connection errors. A manifold allows designers to increase the density of components and also eliminates tubing and mounting brackets that consume space. The resulting smaller footprint gives machine builders greater design flexibility and is particularly desirable for applications like portable medical equipment where compact size is a competitive advantage. Manifold assemblies help OEMs reduce acquisition costs and end users reduce operating costs. For OEMs, buying a manifold and components from a single source reduces time spent on finding, specifying and qualifying multiple products from multiple vendors. They save even more time and money working with a supplier who can assemble and test the system. Many analytical applications, in life sciences for example, routinely require the use of very expensive reagents and even modest reductions can result in big savings. A well-designed manifold assembly can deliver these savings by eliminating fittings and tubing, which reduces the overall wet volume of the fluidic system. Why Manifolds?

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