Rising stem valve solutions

As opposed to quarter-turn actuators that open or close a valve using a rotating motion, rising stem valve actuators open or close a valve using a linear up and down motion. 

Rising stem valves are available in many different configurations: single or double seat, and 2-, 3- or 4-way.  Single seat valves are used to control or separate flow lines and there are only 2 positions of interest – open or closed.

Double seat rising stem valves are often used for cleaning (SIP/CIP), mixing, separating, or extracting.  Double seat valves have 3 positions of interest – seat, upper seat and lower seat.

ifm’s IX sensor is an innovative solution for indicating the position of linear valves.  The sensor continuously detects the position of rising stem valves with a stroke up to 80 mm.  The sensor is mounted on top of the valve stem and “open”, “closed” and an intermediate point (e.g., seat lift) are configured using pushbuttons.  The sensor reliably detects the stem position at a resolution of 0.2 mm.

The IX sensor uses 16 air coils that are multiplexed together to create a linear sensing field.  Each coil is connected to microprocessor-controlled electronics.  As the valve stem enters into the coil arrangement, the coils detect the stem one after the other.  The position of the stem is then compared with the established switch points.  The integrated LED display and switching outputs provide valve position feedback.