VTEM valve terminal by Festo does a lot more with new apps

The Festo Motion Terminal’s 10 (and soon 11) Motion Apps define the functions of this revolutionary valve terminal’s piezo-based valve technology. The 11th – Motion Profile and Positioning – will make it possible to offer servo type positioning with medium accuracy at a lower cost than electric drives.

Festo Canada is expanding the capabilities of its revolutionary VTEM Motion Terminal with its ten new Motion Apps – and an upcoming 11th one. This valve terminal already performs tasks that conventional terminals cannot, but the new Apps redefine the functions of its piezo-based valve technology. They replace more than 50 components and other system solutions, including flow and directional control valves, proportional regulators, soft stop solutions, and positioning tasks.

Unique benefits in more scenarios

Standard pneumatics serves many businesses well in factory and process automation, but the VTEM Motion Terminal offers unique benefits in more scenarios. Festo recommends it for fast reconfiguration of production equipment for format changes of products or packaging, for instance. The valve terminal can perform this application in minutes with simple software adjustments to change process parameters. Users can assign the valve function easily through a PC or machine control system with the Directional Control app.

The VTEM also enhances the movie-going experience. With special theatre seats by MediaMation, three-dimensional films can be experienced not only visually, but through all senses. This Festo valve terminal controls pneumatic drives under the seats to lift or tilt them according to the images onscreen, so audiences feel as if they are involved in car chases or experiencing wind, water splashes, and smells.

The terminal can performs many functions with one valve, regulating airflow and pressure to make both fast and soft, precise motion sequences possible without needing additional automation components. The 11th Motion App, Motion Profile and Positioning, will enable servo-type positioning with medium accuracy at a lower cost than that of electric drives for cylinder stokes between 90 and 300 millimetres, with cylinder diameters from 20 to 55 millimetres.

Customers can order the VTEM with just two valves, and it can now interface with the most common Fieldbus networks. PLC function blocks are now available for Allen Bradley and Siemens Tia software, simplifying the necessary programming for controlling the VTEM from system controllers.

Other major benefits of VTEM apps include self-adjusting and self-optimizing pneumatic systems, lower maintenance costs, and energy savings.

To learn more, contact Festo.

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