Kinetrol Model 07 Stainless Steel Double Acting Actuator

Industrial actuators are critical components in process control systems, enabling precise and reliable operation across diverse applications. Standard Kinetrol actuators feature corrosion-resistant zinc or aluminum alloy casings with a durable epoxy stove enamel finish. However, specific environments necessitate an even higher level of protection, and stainless steel actuators, like the Kinetrol Model 07 Stainless Steel Double Acting Actuator, deliver significant advantages.

Stainless steel actuators are particularly suited to applications demanding exceptional corrosion resistance and durability. Constructed from CF3M/316L stainless steel, Kinetrol's Model 07 actuator casing provides robust defense against chemical attack, seawater exposure, and aggressive washdown environments. The ANC21 stainless steel vane and output shaft enhance durability, ensuring the actuator maintains reliable performance even in highly corrosive conditions.

One of the standout benefits of stainless steel actuators is their suitability for use in pharmaceutical, food processing, beverage, and chemical industries. These sectors often require rigorous sanitation processes involving frequent exposure to high-pressure cleaning solutions or harsh chemicals. Stainless steel construction effectively withstands these conditions without deterioration, maintaining structural integrity and functional accuracy.

Moreover, the actuator's finish—shot blasted and acid pickled—ensures surface smoothness and cleanliness, critical for sterile environments. Its internal components, including PTFE-coated bronze shaft bushes and molded polyurethane seals, are engineered for optimal performance and extended operational life. The seals incorporate stainless spring steel expanders to provide constant sealing pressure, minimizing maintenance and downtime.

Operationally, Kinetrol's stainless steel actuator offers impressive torque performance, ranging from 22.0 Nm (175 lbf in) at lower supply pressures up to 124.0 Nm (1080 lbf in) at higher supply pressures, demonstrating adaptability across varying operational requirements. Its double-acting design guarantees precise control, making it ideal for valve actuation in pipelines or systems handling aggressive fluids or gases. The actuator operates effectively within a broad temperature range (-40°C to +80°C), further extending its versatility across diverse climatic conditions and industrial settings.

For companies operating offshore platforms, wastewater treatment facilities, or chemical manufacturing plants, the benefits of adopting stainless steel actuators include significantly reduced lifecycle costs through diminished maintenance demands and improved reliability. The Model 07 stainless steel actuator also aligns with ATEX Category 2 standards, ensuring safe operation within explosive or hazardous environments, which is vital for oil and gas applications.

While the standard Kinetrol actuators with epoxy-coated aluminum or zinc remain suitable for many applications, the specialized needs of specific industrial settings undeniably benefit from the enhanced corrosion resistance and structural integrity that stainless steel actuators provide.

Currently, Kinetrol offers stainless steel actuators exclusively in the Model 07.

Kinetrol USA
https://kinetrolusa.com
972-447-9443

Achieving Optimal Flow Control: How SteadyLine Actuators Combat Water Hammer

Water hammer poses significant risks in industrial flow control systems, causing potential damage to pipes, valves, and other components due to the sudden surge in pressure. This phenomenon occurs when valves open or close too quickly, creating a shock wave that travels through the fluid. The Kinetrol SteadyLine addresses this issue effectively by incorporating built-in dampening and adjustable opening and closing speeds.

By controlling the speed at which valves operate, the SteadyLine actuator reduces the abrupt changes in fluid velocity, thereby minimizing the pressure surges associated with water hammer. This capability ensures a smoother and more controlled flow, protecting the system from the harmful effects of sudden pressure spikes. Additionally, the built-in dampening feature further absorbs any residual shocks, providing an extra layer of protection and enhancing the longevity of the entire flow control system.

Implementing an actuator like the SteadyLine in industrial and commercial settings offers numerous advantages. It mitigates the risks associated with water hammer and contributes to the system's overall reliability and efficiency. Operators can fine-tune the actuator's performance to match the specific requirements of their application, ensuring optimal flow control and preventing damage that could lead to costly repairs or downtime. By integrating such advanced features, the SteadyLine actuator significantly enhances industrial flow control systems' safety, durability, and performance.

When reducing harmful shock or excessive motion or ensuring accurate and repeatable valve opening and closing times, Kinetrol Steadyline enhances valve stability, accuracy, and speed control.

Kinetrol Steadyline series precision valve actuators feature built-in damping devices that provide smooth resistance to actuator/valve shaft rotation, increasing with angular velocity. This product smooths out the actuator's standard travel, dampens pipeline flow-induced valve disc oscillations, and allows users to specify a minimum travel time during power failures.

For more information, contact:
Kinetrol USA
https://kinetrolusa.com
972-447-9443

New VDI/VDE Actuator Interface for Kinetrol Double-Acting Actuators

VDI/VDE is a standard established by the Association of German Engineers (VDI) and the Association for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies (VDE).

In industrial valves and actuator manufacturing, VDI/VDE compliance sets the guidelines for the interface between valve actuators and external components such as positioners. It explicitly defines how manufacturers should design the mechanical and electrical connections between actuators and ancillary devices, including mounting dimensions, types of electrical connections, and communication protocols.

This standard aims to ensure compatibility and interoperability between different brands and models. Manufacturers who follow these guidelines make integrating their products into various industrial systems easier, facilitating maintenance, upgrades, and replacements, making the overall industrial processes more efficient and cost-effective.

Kinetrol is pleased to announce the availability of Double-Acting Actuators with VDI / VDE 3845 (NAMUR) mounting interfaces.

Models 03 and 05 DA Actuators

Will have an extended-length top shaft with a NAMUR slot and an adapter plate that will allow the fitment of an industry standard F05 VDI/VDE bracket.

Models 07 and 08 DA Actuators

Will have a standard-length top shaft with a NAMUR slot and an adapter plate that will allow the fitment of an industry standard F05 VDI/VDE bracket.

Models 09 and 10 DA Actuators

Will have a standard-length top shaft with a NAMUR slot and additional M5 mounting holes machined into the top actuator case.

Models 12, 14 and 15 DA Actuators

Will have a shortened-length top shaft with a NAMUR slot and additional M5 mounting holes machined into the top actuator case.

Order Codes and Prices

The units can be ordered by adding a “V” to the end of the order code (i.e., 057-100V). An updated price list that includes the new VDI / VDE DA Actuators will be provided soon. 

Availability

Units are available to order immediately on standard factory lead times.

For more information, contact:
Kinetrol USA
https://kinetrolusa.com
972-447-9443

Roses Are Red; Actuators Are Blue - The Kinetrol Blueline Actuator for Food Production Applications

Kinetrol's "Blueline" Series of pneumatic vane actuators for use in food and beverage production. Install Blueline Actuators in areas where harsh chemical wash-down is required. These are areas that are very tough on most pneumatic actuators because of the caustic or acidic chemicals used in the cleaning process damage the actuator.

Kinetrol's Blueline Series provides a very economical option for use with caustic and acidic wash-down procedures. The actuators have non-stick properties, resistance to salt-laden environments, and exceptional resistance to chipping and flaking. Additionally, if the coating does become dislodged, it is visible to the human eye or the photo optic detectors used in quality controls systems.

For more information, contact:
Kinetrol USA
https://kinetrolusa.com
972-447-9443

Kinetrol Rotary Vane Actuators. Simply the Best.

Kinetrol rotary vane actuators have a well earned, and long established, reputation for  performing where other pneumatic actuators fail. With outstanding cycle life, smooth and precise operation, and an environmentally rugged design, Kinetrol actuators are "simply the best" quarter-turn valve and damper actuator on the market today. Period.

For more information, contact Kinetrol USA. Call them at 972-447-9443 or visit their website at https://kinetrolusa.com.

Kinetrol Steadyline Actuators Mitigate Water Hammer Damage from Pump Station

Water hammer occurs when a pipe's fluid flow changes rapidly. The effect may be high pipe pressures, mechanical stress on pipe structures, and potential flow reversal. If not controlled, it can cause pipe bursting, pipe breaking and joint leakage. Vane actuators open and close valves and can be tightly controlled with regards to opening and closing speeds. The Kinetrol Steadyline series are precision valve actuators with built-in damping devices providing a smooth resistance to shaft rotation which increases with angular velocity. The Kinetrol Steadyline product smooths out the normal travel, dampens any valve-flow induced disc oscillations, and provides a minimum user-specified amount of travel time on power failure.

A water treatment facility pump station was having recurring problems with a large hydraulic actuator that was very cumbersome and expensive to maintain. The well engineered solution was a Kinetrol Size 14 Steadyline double acting actuator with digital speed controllers installed on 12” Pratt butterfly valves. The result: better performance, reduced downtime, lower cost of operation. 

Kinetrol USA

https://kinetrolusa.com

972-447-9443

How To Install and Remove a Kinetrol Actuator Spring Unit

This video demonstrates how to install and removed a spring unit for a Kinetrol vane actuator. Spring units are available for either clockwise or counter clockwise spring action. They are mounted, as standard, between the actuator and what it drives. With spring units alone, direction is determined by looking at the unit from the end which interfaces with the actuator.

Even In the Hot Seat, Kinetrol Actuators Perform

This picture is of what used to be a Kinetrol
097-120 and the valve it secured.

Liquid-phase oxidation of hydrocarbons is used in the production of  terephthalic acid (TPA).  Air is the source of oxygen gas in the oxidation processes. The air for the reaction is supplied by large compressors.

A chemical manufacturer in the southeastern USA experienced a catastrophic fire in their compressor house 2014. The fire caused extensive damage to the facility and equipment, and shut down production for months. The compressor alone cost $30 million.

As part of the compressor safety shutdown system, two 6" Class 150 high performance butterfly valves with Kinetrol 097-120 actuators were installed on the process air lines. In the the event of an emergency, these valves needed to quickly close, and then stay closed, under any - and all - conditions.

Close-up view of the Kinetrol
Actuator. A melted ball of metal.

Immediately upon activation of the emergency alarm, the two Kinetrol actuated assemblies received their signal and closed the valves quickly and tightly. As the fire raged, the actuators kept the valves secure, even after the extreme heat from the fire completely melted the actuator housings and internals.

As you can see from the pictures, the actuators were completely destroyed, but the valves stayed closed and and escalation of the emergency was prevented.

For more information, contact Kinetrol USA by calling 972-447-9443 or visit https://kinetrolusa.com.

Why Do Kinetrol Actuators Last So Long?

Kinetrol actuators are known world-wide for their extremely long service life, even in harsh environments. Here are a few reasons why.

KintrolUSA.com
972-447-9443

The Kinetrol Actuator Vane Assembly Design

The Kinetrol rotary vane actuator utilizes an advanced design vane assembly that is engineered to provide millions of trouble-free cycles. This video highlights the advanced features that make it the most reliable 1/4 turn pneumatic actuator on the market today.

https://kinetrolusa.com
972-447-9443

Kinetrol Blueline Actuator for Use in Foodservice and Beverage Processing

Kinetrol's "Blueline" Series of pneumatic vane actuators for use in foodservice and beverage processing. The actuators are intended to be installed in areas where harsh chemical wash-down is required. These areas are very tough on most types of pneumatic actuators because the caustic or acidic chemicals used in cleaning adversely effect the actuator. Kinetrol's Blueline Series provides a very economical option these areas.

KinetrolUSA.com/Blueline

972-447-9443

New EL Positioner Installation Video from Kinetrol USA

The video below is new from Kinetrol USA and provides detailed instructions on how to install a Kinetrol model EL electro-pneumatic positioner.

The EL positioner controls airflow to an actuator and moves it to a position determined by a 4-20mA signal and using a unique low power proportional servo valve. The combination of EL positioner and Kinetrol vane actuator provide fast, smooth and precise control for industrial valves and dampers.

https://kinetrolusa.com
972-447-9443

Cement Hopper Valve Actuator Requires Kinetrol's Accuracy, Dependability and Toughness

Location of the actuator and valve at bottom of hopper.

A midwestern cement plant had a hopper loading system that was being manually controlled. A human operator, using a long pole attached to a valve arm on a hopper, dispensed the flow of cement. The silo is divided internally into 4 sections. Each section has its own 12" butterfly valve which allows product to fall into a single hopper above a weighing scale. At the bottom of the hopper, and above the truck loading spout, the butterfly valve throttles the product into cement trucks.

No only did this approach require a human operator (with associated costs and safety precautions) to be present, the manual system didn't provide the degree of control the company needed. Careful control of the cement into the truck is important because uncontrolled flow, or too rapid a flow, will overwhelm the dust collection system and allow fugitive emissions (dust) to escape to the atmosphere. A serious regulatory and safety issue.

Kinetrol actuators and positioners perform in dirt and dust.

Together, the local Kinetrol Distributor sales rep and customer came up with a new system utilizing a Kinetrol vane actuator and an EL electropneumatic positioner. The new design accurately modulates the cement flow through the 12" valve. This approach gives the customer much closer flow control and eliminates the need to a human operator. It also allows for the terminal to be remotely operated from more than 4 miles away, all with reliable and repeatable results.

For more information, contact Kinetrol USA by visiting https://kinetrolusa.com or by calling 972-447-9443.

Power Plant Bearing Cooling Water Temperature Control

A midwest power plant was using a diaphragm control valve to control water temperature for their bearing cooling system. The closed-loop bearing cooling system uses the modulating valve to control water temperature between 50 and 170 degrees F. at 170 PSIG. The diaphragm valve was not able to provide the required signal response for tight control.

The local Kinetrol Distributor specified a high performance butterfly valve (HPBV) with Kinetrol spring return actuator and third-party positioner. The new valve and actuator package provided  reliable and accurate controllability with zero hysteresis. It has operated continually for 3 years without maintenance.

Bearing Cooling Water Temperature Control Valve

Kinetrol Actuators on Power Plant Descaling Water System

Kinetrol actuator on
descale water system.

Overtime, heat exchanger tubes in power plant boilers build up mineral deposits that prevent proper heat transfer. The poorer the heat transfer, the higher the boiler tube exposure temperature. The higher the exposure temperature, the shorter the life of the boiler tubes. To remedy this, a chemical and mechanical process called descaling is used. Descaling removes these mineral deposits and restores proper heat transfer.

Wider view.

This Kinetrol actuator application is located on the descale water system at a power plant in the Midwestern United States.  Knifegate valves with pneumatic cylinder actuators were installed on the system and were failing. The knifegate valve packing material leaked and created a maintenance nightmare. The customer needed a longer term, lower maintenance solution.

The local Kinetrol Distributor recommended switching to a high performance butterfly valve (HPBV) and Kinetrol double acting actuator as the replacement. These actuators and valves are installed in a very dirty area (see picture), and during power generation, are exposed to high heat and are cycled every 30 seconds. The first installation has been in place for 20 months and operating without problem. Now, as each knifegate comes up for maintenance, they are being replaced with the Kinetrol operated butterfly valve.

For more information, contact Kinetrol USA by visiting https://kinetrolusa.com or calling 972-447-9443.

Kinetrol Blueline Food-Grade Rotary Vane Actuators

Kinetrol Blueline Food Grade Valve Actuator from Kinetrol USA

Pneumatic Valve and Damper Actuators: A Design Comparison

Industrial valves, dampers and louvers are operated either electrically or pneumatically. This post compares the three major categories of  pneumatic valve actuators, namely:

1. Rotary vane
2. Scotch-yoke
3. Rack & pinion

All three categories provide the same basic function - converting air pressure to rotational movement intended to open, close, or position a quarter-turn valve (ball, plug, butterfly), louver or damper.

All three can be configured in either direct acting or spring return versions. Direct acting actuators use the air supply to move the actuator in both directions (open and close). Spring return actuators, as the name implies, uses springs to move the actuator back to its "resting" state. Converting from direct acting to spring return is done through simple modifications, typically just adding an external spring module, or removing the end caps from rack and pinion actuators and installing several coil springs.

Rotary Vane Actuator

Rotary Vane Actuators

Vane actuators generally provide the most space savings when comparing size-to-torque with rack and pinion and scotch yoke. They have an outstanding reputation for long life because then contain only one moving part, as opposed to rack and pinion and scotch yoke actuators that have many. They tend to withstand dirty and corrosive atmospheres better than rack and pinion and scotch yoke actuators. Vane actuators also use externally mounted, helically wound "clock springs" for their spring return mechanism.

Scotch Yoke

Scotch-yoke actuators use a pneumatic piston mechanism to transfer movement to a linear push rod, that in turn engages a pivoting lever arm to provide rotation. They come in a wide variety of sizes, but are very often used on larger valves because they are capable of producing very high torque output. Spring return units have a large return spring module mounted on the opposite end of the piston mechanism working directly against the pressurized cylinder.

Rack and Pinion

A rack & pinion pneumatic actuator uses opposing pistons with integral gears to engage a pinion gear shaft to produce rotation. Rack & pinion actuators (sometimes referred to as a lunch box because of their shape) tend to be more compact than scotch yoke, have standardized mounting patterns, and produce output torques suitable for small to medium sized valves. They almost always include standard bolting and coupling patterns to directly attach a valve, solenoid, limit switch or positioner. Rack and pinion actuators use several smaller coil springs mounted internally and provide the torque to return the valve to its starting position.

The practical difference between these three types of pneumatic actuators comes down to size, power, torque curve and ease of adding peripherals. For the best selection of valve actuator for any quarter turn valve application, you should seek the advice of a qualified valve automation specialist. By doing so your valve actuation package will be optimized for safety, longevity, and performance.

Scotch yoke mechanism image courtesy of Wikipedia.
Rack and pinion mechanism image courtesy of Wikipedia.

Kinetrol Blueline Actuator Stands Up to Harsh Conditions in Cheese Factory

A very large mozzarella cheese producer in the USA had an actuator problem with their EFV’s (Enclosed Finishing Vats). The flow of the curds being blown into the EFV’s is controlled by star valves and pneumatic actuators. The actuators and valves serve (2) critical purposes: 1) The shut off of the star valve; and 2) controlling the air flow of the blower.

The cheese plant had continuous service problems with their existing actuators. Some had to be replaced within one week of installation. Failure of the actuators caused the curd line to be plugged, and when replacement of the actuator was needed, it would result in a huge mess to be cleaned up off of the production floor. With a 24/7 production timetable, a solution needed to be found to keep the EFV’s up and running.

Kinetrol Blueline vane actuators were recommended because of their 4 million operation guarantee and the new proprietary coating that meets FDA specifications and is permitted for use in food service.

The Kinetrol Blueline actuators eliminated the maintenance issues completely and the Blueline coating has held up excellently after caustic wash-down, with no signs of degradation or fading.

https://kinetrolusa.com
972-447-9443

Epoxy Stove Enamel Finish: A Kinetrol Advantage

Kinetrol actuators are well-known for their bright yellow, epoxy stove enamel finish. This coating is engineered to protect the exterior of their pneumatic actuators and accessories. But what is "epoxy stove enamel"?

Epoxy stove enamel is a high quality stoving finish that provides excellent adhesion to a substrate. Epoxy stove enamel forms a very hard, abrasion resistant, chemical and solvent resistant coating that stands up to many extreme environmental conditions. Epoxy stove enamel finish provides high level chemical/corrosion resistant qualities, and is used often in applications such as machinery, industrial equipment, and heavy duty transport machinery.

Kinetrol actuators are engineered specifically for high-cycle, dirty, and corrosive applications. The combination of epoxy stove enamel finish and stainless steel external hardware provide Kinetrol actuators outstanding protection from dirt and harmful chemicals.

Kinetrol USA
https://kinetrolusa.com
972-447-9443

Who makes the most reliable industrial valve actuator?

With millions of actuators performing reliably around the world, the Kinetrol vane actuator's outstanding cycle life, smooth and precise movement, and environmentally rugged design makes it the best choice for all of your valve actuation needs.

https://kinetrolusa.com