VALVE MAGAZINE Spring 2024

VALVE BASICS

A variety of pinch valves and accessories.

weight. In some cases, this style of pinch valve can be made entirely from plastic to reduce cost and weight. However, doing so creates a more limited ability and life span. Clamp-style pinch valves are chosen for services that require a valve to be installed with no process break. They are gener ally installed on single-use disposable systems, in pharmaceu tical manufacturing, and in food and beverage applications that use flexible or braided tubing. CONCLUSION Although pinch valves have a simple design and purpose, they are used for a wide variety of applications. Knowing their purpose and how they work enables those who choose them to pick the right type. This article was published in a previous edition and has been updated .

Manual pinch valve with cover closed (left) and open (right) to show hose compression.

be installed and removed from the system without disas sembling the hose system or breaking the line. This type of pinch valve is designed for systems where breaks in the process tubing or hose are not feasible. In most cases, these valves are used as a clamp for single-use tubing. Because the clamp-style pinch valve is separate from the tubing or hose that it closes off, the valve itself requires minimal maintenance. This style of pinch valve is gener ally made from metallic materials such as stainless steel or aluminum, with handles made from plastics to help reduce

Shawn Opfer is a senior mechanical engineer at IMI PBM. He has 27 years of engineering experience, the last 17 being in a variety of roles at IMI PBM. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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VALVE MAGAZINE

SPRING 2024