Inkjet
We are the world’s leading supplier of valves for continuous inkjet processes. Many of the world’s leading CIJ and DOD printer brands use our technology within the fluid circuits, due to their high durability and suitability for aggressive solvents and inks.
Our range is adaptable for many types of printer and labelling machines and includes pencil cylinders, inline valves and precision solenoid valves.
Miniature Solenoid Valve Case Study
A global leader in CIJ small character printers used in diverse manufacturing & production environments, required miniature solenoid valves with greater repeatability, higher reliability and longer operating life.
We designed a precision miniature solenoid valve in a 10mm body with smallest possible overall footprint and internal volume, repeatable specified operating times and leak rate, an increased valve life cycle and higher reliability to withstand clogging in continuous operation with viscous ink.
The miniature solenoid valve design needed to be compatible with MEK (Methyl ethyl ketone) based inks to compensate for “swelling” of elastomer seals and precision control of highly aggressive media.
Our solution was an integrated dual 10mm solenoid valve in a single assembly and housing. The miniature integrated precision solenoid valve assembly is 100% tested to the OEM customer specifications achieving the highest quality and inspection standards allowing for KANBAN shipments arriving at the customer as “door to floor” with no incoming inspection.
The product represented an extension of an existing product technology platform and was co–developed over a 24 month period between us and the OEM customer project engineering at one of our premier precision miniature solenoid valve manufacturing units.
The solution met the dimension & footprint, repeatable flow & response time and life cycle requirements of the OEM customer. In turn, while Norgren developed the precision control miniature valve enabled the OEM customer to focus on its core competencies which decreased its development time, launch to market faster and realize sales revenues 6 months sooner.
Dehumidifier Manifold Case Study
A large commercial graphics printer uses compressed air to deliver ink to the printing head and speed drying. If moisture or oil vapor from the ambient intake air gets into the system, the ink will dry slowly and smear easily.
The printer manufacturer found the stand-alone components they were using to detect moisture and shut the system down were too unreliable and cumbersome.
We created a disposable, yet intelligent dehumidifier module which runs the compressed air through a bowl that siphons off the moisture and oil vapor carryover. When these contaminants build to a point where print quality could be compromised, the module will trigger the printer to stop the job. The unit is consolidated in a single manifold that fits within the existing mounting footprint.
A single integrated system reduces the number of potential failure points, and using high quality components further ensures reliability. The automatic shutdown prevents errors for the end-user and enhances print quality. Once the dehumidifier signals the system has shut down, all the operator has to do is follow on-screen instructions to quickly unplug the disposable dehumidifier unit and install a new one. The printer can be back in service within five minutes or less.
Using an integrated logic manifold instead of multiple components, the solution now has a single part number and the customer exceeded their goal of reducing acquisition costs by 23%.