After successful testing of my prototype pneumatic pinch valve with a 3/8″ bore, I proceeded to design an improved version with a full 1/2″ bore. This version uses silicone tubing instead of latex, which I believe will not contribute any off-flavours, and will not break down eventually as latex tubing is prone to do. In addition, it also has pipe-thread connections for inlet and outlet so it can be plumbed into a system easily, but can be removed if necessary.
See my page here on how it was constructed.
4 responses to “Pneumatic pinch valve, 1/2″ version”
O found your entry from a Google search. I was wondering how the fatigue life is holding up for this valve? I think I can modify this design for animatronics applications. Thanks for the postings! Regards, Peter Crisp, Surrey, BC.
I haven’t actually built the system around that valve design yet.
The silicone tubing I used is just a fairly generic one. I just figured it would last longer than latex tubing from Home Depot, which will grow brittle just sitting there.
If long life is desired, I expect you might do well with the special tubings designed for peristaltic pumps. They’re extremely resilient, designed specifically for this kind of constant flexing.
Nice project! Once the valve is closed, how do you release the gas pressure to open it again?
I don’t really have a control system for it… this project has been stalled for years. But in a typical pneumatic system, you can get valves that just do that. When you turn off the solenoid, the output is vented to the atmosphere.