Valin's Blog

Hydrogen is key to decarbonization - in the chemical industry as well as for developed nations. However, while it is relatively easy and cheap to produce, pure H2 is notoriously difficult to transport and store. Most methods require high operational and/or energy costs.

The answer might not be so obvious when deciding to use pre-engineered "Cartesian Robots" versus more modularly designed gantries.

Leaks are a pernicious issue in natural gas pipelines. As hydrogen can escape even more easily than methane through the tiniest holes, cracks, and weld seams, the transport and eventual storage of this gas is one of the major barriers to wider adoption of this gas as a fuel and feedstock. Hydrogen permeation and embrittlement only exacerbate the problem.

Selecting the proper positioner is critical. The wrong decision can lead to unnecessary costs on one end of the spectrum and the need for a replacement on the other.

Electro-Hydraulic Power Unit for use with Customer Cylinders.

Historically there were two actuation options: Electro-Mechanical Actuators (EMA) and Traditional Hydraulics. But now there is a better option!

In the world of natural gas liquification, turbine trip valves play a major role. There may be no piece of equipment that is more important to the safety of the plant and its personnel than a turbine trip valve.

Actuators are a critical component of the automation process. In fact, most of the heavy lifting for liquids, gases, and discrete motion control is done by actuators.  There is an important distinction, however, between actuator applications: process and discrete.

Industrial furnaces come in many shapes and sizes and are used across a wide variety of applications. As one would expect, monitoring the temperature of an industrial furnace is critical and is accomplished by measuring the temperature of the tubes inside the furnace.

So, you know you need some form of control in your process, but where do you go from there?  There are so many different options available depending on the process conditions and the level of control you're looking for. And with budget restrictions becoming ever more stringent, making the best decision the first time is crucial.

Mitsubishi announced the discontinuation of their old legacy J2S product line back in 2015 and official repair services for this product ended in August 2022. If you haven't already looked into upgrading to the J4, now is the time!

Is unchecked vibration affecting your bottom line? Vibration can bring any high-speed, high-precision process to an unexpected and costly standstill.

Global competition requires manufacturers to strive for operational excellence to ensure they are competitive. This requires continuous improvements in terms of reliability, reduced unscheduled downtime, lower maintenance costs, extended equipment life, optimized energy consumption, improved sustainability, and greater throughput.

Reducing your carbon footprint and enhancing sustainability are imperatives in today's world. Emerson's expertise in the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and sustainability-enhancing products and software provide the right actionable insights for optimized energy management.

We've been finding more and more circumstances where customers find it beneficial to run their variable frequency drives (VFD) to failure, potentially damaging the VFD beyond repair. This is an interesting concept for people to wrap their mind around at first.

Worldwide, chemical companies are recognizing the potential of hydrogen as a feedstock and fuel source and the most viable way for the industry to become carbon neutral. Obstacles to realizing this future are gas leakage and storage/transport, two issues that reliable measuring instruments can help overcome.

Valin and Omron sponsored a Senior Capstone project at CSU Chico recently. The project was two terms long.  During the first term, the students worked on understanding the requirements and designing the solution. Check out their final solution in the blog below.

With all the parts manufactured, assembled, and tested in the USA, WIKA is pleased to be able to offer quick delivery on our most popular industrial process diaphragm gauge: the AWS.

The flexible membrane in a diaphragm pressure gauge, a specialized industrial gauge, gives it several advantages over standard Bourdon tube gauges and capsule pressure gauges.

For both process and discrete motion control applications of actuators, many of the terminologies uttered and the base technologies utilized are similar. The difference comes with the application and evolution of these base technologies.

We're always seeing questions about circulation heaters. Specifically, given the abundance of different models and types, customers want to know which works best for their application.

Amine units are critical to the operations of refineries and chemical plants. If a unit fails due to corrosion, condensation and foaming, the entire productivity and safety of the facility is imperiled. Temperature measurement solutions allow operators to precisely control amine systems in order to prevent critical failures and maximize efficiency.

After 24 years, Parker's popular 6K has been discontinued. It was the follow-up to Parker's successful 6000 Series controllers which together spanned over 35 years of motion control history!

In a time where the cost of everything is on the rise, operators, and decision-makers are more focused than ever on getting the most out of their particular process. This is particularly true for the semiconductor industry.