April/May 2020

PNEUMATICS IMI Precision Engineering has undertaken a rapid adaptation of its Switzerland-based manufacturing capability to meet the urgent requirement for more ventilator units from the life sciences marketplace. Production of the IMI FAS Flatprop valve, an essential component which delivers high precision proportional flow control to enable the precise control of very low or high flow rates, has been significantly escalated to meet the rapidly increasing demand to support healthcare systems around the world. Special status To do this, IMI Precision Engineering has acquired special status from the Swiss authorities to undertake extended hours of production of the IMI FAS Flatprop valve during the week and over the weekend. As an indicator of the spike in demand, existing customer demands have increased dramatically in comparison with normal order levels. The current semi-automatic production line at the IMI FAS manufacturing plant is in the process of being transitioned to fully automatic status by the end of March. Production will be manned by three shifts working around the clock and 36 HYDRAULICS & PNEUMATICS April/May 2020 www.hpmag.co.uk Manual flow control option now available for V-Notch ball valves special in-house employee support systems have also been introduced for childcare provision to enable the manufacturing staff to devote the maximum time available to the production. Partnership Martin Maas, managing director of fluid technology EMEA, comments: “The current demand for ventilation solutions from worldwide healthcare systems has put pressure on all parts of the supply chain. The IMI FAS Flatprop valve is an important component within the ventilator. As such, we are working in partnership with ventilator manufacturers on an international basis to ensure we speedily supply the valves they need to help save lives. “Our teams are working extremely hard to rapidly adapt our manufacturing capabilities so that we can meet this critical need. The flexibility demonstrated by our committed and skilled workforce, allied to our production abilities, means we are confident we can help play our part in delivering what is required during these challenging times.” www.imi-precision.com IMI Precision Engineering adapts to meet increased ventilator component demand In addition to widely used electric or pneumatic actuation, Bonomi (UK) Ltd can now offer a manual flow control device for use in conjunction with much of its Valpres V-Notch ball valve range. While many users still elect to use Valbia’s pneumatic or electric actuator with positioner, the new manual, stainless steel device offers an alternative, simply calibrated method, which is claimed to allow precise and accurate flow control to be achieved. The manual flow control device is compatible with most of Valpres’s V- Notch ball valves including 2-piece and 3-piece ball valves, wafer pattern ball valves and split body flanged ball valves of both carbon steel and stainless steel construction. Equally suitable for liquids and gases, Bonomi’s V-Notch solutions make it possible to transform from an on-off ball valve, into a regulation/control one, with flow rate regulation ratios ranging up to 500:1. Bonomi (UK) comments that excellent versatility means virtually any customer requirement can be catered for using V- ball’s V30-60, V60 and V90 patterns. www.bonomi.co.uk