Pinch valves ensure the correct dosing of soldering agent for submerged welding technology

AKO Armaturen supplies pinch valves from the VMC series with abrasion-resistant sleeves to manufacturers of light metal wheel rims in Germany, England, Italy and France. Pinch valves are used to control soldering agent for submerged welding.

The international wheel rim manufacturer has used pinch valves from the VMC series made out of stainless steel with internal thread connections for some time. They are used to control and supply the soldering agent that provides the required protective atmosphere for the submerged welding process. The light metal wheel rims are held on a machine that starts to evenly rotate the wheel. A rigidly installed welding arm is thus able to perform its work along the desired welding seam and the pinch valve ensures that the required soldering agent is poured onto the wheel rims. The anti-abrasive sleeves made out of a highly resistant natural rubber that are installed in the pinch valve can easily handle the required 450 – 600 opening and closing cycles per day without any deformation.

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Before the manufacturer switched over to DIN 32 stainless steel pinch valves from AKO Armaturen, the soldering agent was controlled using aluminium pinch valves supplied by another manufacturer. However, these pinch valves were susceptible to wear and deformation due to the very thin internal sleeves. In addition, there were issues with the aluminium housings because they were constantly damaged by fragments of the soldering agent. These problems are now a thing of the past thanks to the high-quality sleeves and stainless steel pinch valves. Furthermore, the pinch valves from AKO also impress due to their simple design and easy maintenance.

The first AKO pinch valves have now been installed for more than 18 months for the dosing of soldering agent for submerged welding and the manufacturer is delighted to have found a reliable alternative with a longer service life and lower total cost of ownership (TCO).

According to assessments made by AKO Armaturen, the sleeves fitted in the pinch valves should be able to operate without any problems for another two years or so under these conditions before they need to be replaced.