What To Do When Off-The-Shelf Valve Products Aren’t Quite Right for Your Application
Even with hundreds of competitive choices, standard valve products may not be ideal for all fluid handling and pneumatic applications. Space constraints, media type, precise flow and performance needs may compel you to explore a custom pneumatic or fluid handling solution.
The experts in Humphrey Products Engineered Solutions Group can help. We’ll evaluate your system challenges and create a custom-made solution that optimizes your application.
Why You May Need a Custom Valve
Space constraints: Standard valves straight off the shelf may not fit your tight space requirements for piping, mounting and integration. A custom valve or valve system can be tailored to fit different configurations, connectivity and orientations.
Media compatibility: Some fluids are corrosive and incompatible for materials of standard valves. Custom valves can be designed with compatible materials that can withstand harsh media.
Extreme environments and temperatures: Elevated or extreme operating temperatures can weaken valve components and compromise valve life in your application. Standard materials in valves can deform or degrade, particularly rubbers and plastics. Conversely, extreme cold can cause elastomers to become brittle and crack if they aren’t designed to handle low temperatures. A custom valve is designed with those extremes in mind to prevent failure during operation.
Pressure and flow rates: Every standard valve is prepared for a set pressure and flow rating. Some applications require unique characteristics not available from standard valves.
Compliance: Highly regulated sectors, particularly the medical and pharmaceutical industries, have strict compliance standards. Investing in a custom valve can help you meet those regulations, achieve optimal performance and maintain operator safety.
Assessing Your Needs
Consider the following if a standard valve doesn’t quite fit your application:
- Flow, pressure, temperature or media specifications are a compromise
- Available space and connectivity orientation appears challenging
- Integration with complimentary technologies can be an opportunity
- Lack of compliance with regulatory requirements
How Humphrey Products Can Help
Our Engineered Solutions Group specializes in custom valve design, development and production. Outsourcing the process to our team can help you save time and boost operational efficiency.
Here’s our process:
Discovery: We work closely with you to assess and understand all technical, commercial and integration requirements. Our team also helps to identify quality and regulatory parameters and provides an initial proposal and budget.
Concepting and prototyping: Humphrey’s expert engineers create sketches of potential solutions based on your application parameters. Each design goes through rigorous reviews to ensure we include all technical, quality and performance attributes. Conceptual prototype sketches are prepared and reviewed with you.
Production readiness: Upon prototype approval, a production proposal is prepared to begin any tooling and fixture work for qualification, assembly and testing.
Delivery and support: We always keep the end in mind during production to ensure defect-free valve solutions. Our team will schedule follow-up appointments to ensure complete satisfaction.
Custom Valve Solutions for Diverse Applications
Humphrey Products has decades of experience developing unique valve solutions that suit unique applications and requirements. Review our product catalog, then contact our technical team for more information.