A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically fittings, but are usually discussed as a separate category. In an open valve, fluid flows in a direction from higher pressure to lower pressure. The word is derived from the Latin valva, the moving part of a door, in turn from volvere, to turn, roll.
A washing machine is a home appliance used to wash laundry. The term is mostly applied to machines that use water as opposed to dry cleaning or ultrasonic cleaners. The user adds laundry detergent, which is sold in liquid, powder, or dehydrated sheet form, to the wash water.
An actuator is a component of a machine that produces force, torque, or displacement, usually in a controlled way, when an electrical, pneumatic or hydraulic input is supplied to it in a system. An actuator converts such an input signal into the required form of mechanical energy. It is a type of transducer. In simple terms, it is a "mover".
Fluid power is the use of fluids under pressure to generate, control, and transmit power. Fluid power is conventionally subdivided into hydraulics and pneumatics. Although steam is also a fluid, steam power is usually classified separately from fluid power. Compressed-air and water-pressure systems were once used to transmit power from a central source to industrial users over extended geographic areas; fluid power systems today are usually within a single building or mobile machine.
A ball valve is a flow control device which uses a hollow, perforated, and pivoting ball to control fluid flowing through it. It is open when the hole through the middle of the ball is in line with the flow inlet, and closed when it is pivoted 90 degrees by the valve handle, blocking the flow. The handle lies flat in alignment with the flow when open, and is perpendicular to it when closed, making for easy visual confirmation of the valve's status. The shut position 1/4 turn could be in either clockwise or counter-clockwise direction.
The J-2, commonly known as Rocketdyne J-2, was a liquid-fuel cryogenic rocket engine used on NASA's Saturn IB and Saturn V launch vehicles. Built in the United States by Rocketdyne, the J-2 burned cryogenic liquid hydrogen (LH2) and liquid oxygen (LOX) propellants, with each engine producing 1,033.1 kN (232,250 lbf) of thrust in vacuum. The engine's preliminary design dates back to recommendations of the 1959 Silverstein Committee. Rocketdyne won approval to develop the J-2 in June 1960 and the first flight, AS-201, occurred on 26 February 1966. The J-2 underwent several minor upgrades over its operational history to improve the engine's performance, with two major upgrade programs, the de Laval nozzle-type J-2S and aerospike-type J-2T, which were cancelled after the conclusion of the Apollo program.
Ultra-high vacuum is the vacuum regime characterised by pressures lower than about 1×10−6 pascals. UHV conditions are created by pumping the gas out of a UHV chamber. At these low pressures the mean free path of a gas molecule is greater than approximately 40 km, so the gas is in free molecular flow, and gas molecules will collide with the chamber walls many times before colliding with each other. Almost all molecular interactions therefore take place on various surfaces in the chamber.
A rotary valve is a type of valve in which the rotation of a passage or passages in a transverse plug regulates the flow of liquid or gas through the attached pipes. The common stopcock is the simplest form of rotary valve. Rotary valves have been applied in numerous applications, including:
The Autococker is a closed-bolt semiautomatic paintball marker manufactured by Worr Game Products (WGP). It was one of the first paintball markers to be designed specifically for the sport, and has long been known throughout the paintball community for its popularity and customizability as well as its complexity. It is commonly believed that the closed-bolt design of the marker makes it inherently more accurate than its open-bolt counterparts, though this is disputed.
A punch press is a type of machine press used to cut holes in material. It can be small and manually operated and hold one simple die set, or be very large, CNC operated, with a multi-station turret and hold a much larger and complex die set.
An air-operated valve, also known as a pneumatic valve, is a type of power-operated pipe valve that uses air pressure to perform a function similar to a solenoid. As air pressure is increased, the compressed air starts to push against the piston or diaphragm walls which causes the valve to actuate. Whether the valve opens or closes depends on the application. These valves are used for many functions in pneumatic systems, but most often serve one of two functions. The first activates a part of the system when a specific pressure is reached. The second prevents damage by maintaining a constant pressure or flow rate inside a system, or releasing pressure when it reaches excessive levels.
An axial piston pump is a positive displacement pump that has a number of pistons in a circular array within a cylinder block.
A rotary-screw compressor is a type of gas compressor, such as an air compressor, that uses a rotary-type positive-displacement mechanism. These compressors are common in industrial applications and replace more traditional piston compressors where larger volumes of compressed gas are needed, e.g. for large refrigeration cycles such as chillers, or for compressed air systems to operate air-driven tools such as jackhammers and impact wrenches. For smaller rotor sizes the inherent leakage in the rotors becomes much more significant, leading to this type of mechanism being less suitable for smaller compressors than piston compressors.
Rotary feeders, also known as rotary airlocks or rotary valves, are commonly used in industrial and agricultural applications as a component in a bulk or specialty material handling system. Rotary feeders are primarily used for discharge of bulk solid material from hoppers/bins, receivers, and cyclones into a pressure or vacuum-driven pneumatic conveying system. Components of a rotary feeder include a rotor shaft, housing, head plates, and packing seals and bearings. Rotors have large vanes cast or welded on and are typically driven by small internal combustion engines or electric motors.
A shutdown valve is an actuated valve designed to stop the flow of a hazardous fluid upon the detection of a dangerous event. This provides protection against possible harm to people, equipment or the environment. Shutdown valves form part of a safety instrumented system. The process of providing automated safety protection upon the detection of a hazardous event is called functional safety.
Trickle valves, also known as vacuum valves, are commonly used in industrial dust collection applications to maintain an airlock seal on a dust collector hopper while allowing bulk solid material to be automatically discharged. These valves are typically a less expensive alternative to more commonly used rotary airlocks. Unlike rotary airlock valves which are driven by either an electric motor or a gas or air-powered motor, trickle valves require no external power source and are therefore well-suited for use in mechanical trenchers, where a dust-free environment in the pinnacle truss and axle bore is required for smooth operation. Trickle values were originally developed for this purpose.
The first automatic timer, the dashpot timer has been used in many different machines and has many variations. Pneumatic, hydraulic-action, and mercury displacement timers. Being used in a variety of things such as printing presses, motors, and even irrigation systems, the dashpot timer has seen many applications. Even in modern times with electrical and digital timers, these old mechanical timers are still in use due to their simplicity and ability to function in tough environments.
A booster pump is a machine which increases the pressure of a fluid. It may be used with liquids or gases, and the construction details vary depending on the fluid. A gas booster is similar to a gas compressor, but generally a simpler mechanism which often has only a single stage of compression, and is used to increase pressure of a gas already above ambient pressure. Two-stage boosters are also made. Boosters may be used for increasing gas pressure, transferring high pressure gas, charging gas cylinders and scavenging.
In engineering, a solenoid is a device that converts electrical energy to mechanical energy, using an electromagnet formed from a coil of wire. The device creates a magnetic field from electric current, and uses the magnetic field to create linear motion. In electromagnetic technology, a solenoid is an actuator assembly with a sliding ferromagnetic plunger inside the coil. Without power, the plunger extends for part of its length outside the coil; applying power pulls the plunger into the coil. Electromagnets with fixed cores are not considered solenoids. In simple terms, a solenoid converts electrical energy into mechanical work. Typically, it has a multiturn coil of magnet wire surrounded by a frame, which is also a magnetic flux carrier to enhance its efficiency. In engineering, the term may also refer to a variety of transducer devices that convert energy into linear motion, more sophisticated than simple two–position actuators. The term "solenoid" also often refers to a solenoid valve, an integrated device containing an electromechanical solenoid which actuates either a pneumatic or hydraulic valve, or a solenoid switch, which is a specific type of relay that internally uses an electromechanical solenoid to operate an electrical switch; for example, an automobile starter solenoid or linear solenoid. Solenoid bolts, a type of electromechanical locking mechanism, also exist.
