Meeting the tightest sealing requirements is top priority

Creating the best quality products with a perfect seal is the goal of valve manufacturer müller co-ax ag in Forchtenberg, Germany. When the company developed its Quadax® butterfly valves for the regulation and control of different media in the most extreme applications, it needed a new and highly-accurate co-ordinate measuring machine. Installation of the DEA Global Advantage 20.33.15 from Hexagon Metrology has helped the company to reach its goals.

 

Since it was founded in 1960, müller co-ax ag has specialised in the field of valve technology. Its product portfolio includes more than 30,000 different valve variations for controlling, regulating and monitoring a wide variety of media. Among müller co-ax ag’s passions are the original co-axial valves, which it designed.

 

In 2008, the company expanded its product range and began developing the Quadax® butterfly valves. The driver for this came when Board Chairman Dr.-Ing. Gregor Gaida joined the company. Just one year later, production of these butterfly valves was set in motion. At present, valves with a standard nominal diameter of 50 to 1,000 mm are produced, with sizes up to 1,800 mm also available. The unique and patented 4x offset design principle employed by the company ensures perfect sealing of the Quadax® butterfly valves at temperatures from -270°C to +800°C and pressures of 160 bar or more.

 

Quadax® butterfly valves are manufactured to customers’ specifications while ensuring full compliance with the respective requirements. “When other companies are ready to give up, we at müller co-ax are just getting started. We assemble a project team to devise a solution for the customer’s exact needs or specialist applications,” explains Martin Bogert, quality management representative at müller co-ax ag.

 

Amongst other things these valves are used in LNG (Liquid Natural Gas) and LPG (Liquid Petroleum Gas) systems, refining, energy production and in technical gas, low-temperature and district heating applications. “These varied applications are extreme in their own ways, and demand that the sealing characteristics of our products are nothing less than perfect,” stresses Board Chairman Dr.-Ing. Gregor Gaida, highlighting the enormous range of temperatures the butterfly valves are subjected to.

 

When it was time to choose a co-ordinate measuring machine supplier, Hexagon Metrology stood out from the crowd for a number of reasons. These included the high-precision Leitz LSP-X1h rotating and swivelling sensor installed on the Tesastar swivel head. “This rotating and swivelling sensor reaches every point and surface without any difficulty. As a result, the work piece doesn’t need to be moved during the measurement process, saving time,” explains Martin Bogert. Today, it takes between 30 and 40 minutes to measure a component, depending on its size.

 

Another advantage of Hexagon Metrology was that the müller co-ax measurement technicians were already familiar with the PC-DMIS measurement software. For 13 years, müller co-ax ag have been measuring valve components with a DEA Mistral, which uses PC-DMIS to compare measurement data to CAD data.

 

Martin Bogert was very happy with the uncomplicated and co-operative teamwork of Hexagon Metrology and the solution-oriented method of working: “The measuring machine didn’t fit in the newly constructed measuring room, so we had to find a solution to fit all the equipment in the available space. The Hexagon Metrology specialists were able to lower the vibration dampers without compromising optimum vibration compensation.”

 

Müller co-ax ag has high expectations for the Quadax® butterfly valve range – perfect sealing for media at temperatures ranging from -255 °C to +800 °C. To achieve this, measurement precision has to be in the micro range. Martin Bogert explains the secret of their success:

 

“The seat contour of the housing and the sealing contour of the disc are crucial for the proper sealing of butterfly valves. The shape, as in the roundness, of both parts has to be perfect to ensure optimum interaction.”

 

The components of the butterfly valves are measured on the DEA Global Advantage immediately after the raw housings have been machined, before series production begins. In addition, the CMM is used for the inspection of incoming purchased parts.

 

Since it was commissioned, the DEA Global Advantage has been used on a daily basis. Four trained measurement technicians work in-house in a two-shift operation. Martin Bogert summarises the measurement process: “Bringing components to the specially constructed measuring room by crane to make highly precise measurements on the measuring machine from Hexagon Metrology is vitally important. It ensures that the production of these perfectly sealed butterfly valves gets off to the best possible start.