Diesel Progress North American

Multifunction Valves Aim
To Deliver More In Less

Ask engineers involved with designing nearly any type of mobile equipment and they’re likely to say that there is almost never enough room on any machine to do what they’d like to do. Real estate is always at a premium and sometimes it’s even a limiting factor to a machine’s performance or efficiency.

It stands to reason, therefore, that whenever a component manufacturer can provide more performance and capability and do it in the same or less space, it’s likely to draw some interest.

HydraForce, the Lincolnshire, Ill.-headquartered specialist in cartridge valves, integrated hydraulic circuits and electronic controls, has developed a new line of multifunction sole-noid-operated on/off and proportional valves with integral piloting and load-signaling capability that is designed to allow for a significant reduction in hydraulic valve manifold space claim. While reducing the size, weight, material and cost, the newly patented SVCL and SPCL valves can provide an efficient, compact and cost-effective solution for directional control and load-holding applications.

“HydraForce saw an opportunity
to make more efficient manifold sys-
tems in order to provide OEMs with a
reduced space claim option for their
hydraulic integrated circuit manifolds,”
said David Price, HydraForce market-
ing communications manager. “These
valves enable the same or better per-
formance from both a flow rate and
pressure drop perspective, while also
eliminating valves from a manifold. This
reduces the overall cost of the manifold
by as much as 20% in some cases.”
The SVCL and SPCL valves are
available in both 10-size and 16-size
variations, with flow rates of 15 gpm
for the 10-size valves and 40 gpm
for the 16-size valves. All of the new
valves incorporate proprietary design
that incorporates a built-in low-leak-
age, load-holding check valve as well
as up to two integral pilot/load-sense
check valves.

HydraForce’s patented new SVCL and SPCL valves are designed to provide an efficient, compact and cost-effective solution for directional control and load-holding applications.

use a single valve, saving two or three
additional cross-drills and port holes in
the manifold. This reduces the size and
cost of the entire manifold assembly.”
The SVCL and SPCL valves use
HydraForce D-Series and E-Series coils
with various connector options. E-Series
environmental coils are reated IP69K.
They have been extensively tested
and approved under severe mobile
machinery application conditions,
HydraForce said.

Rated operating pressure for all SPCL and SVCL valves is 3625 psi while the load-holding port number 1 is capable of 5000 psi.

While the new valves can be used for a variety of different applications, HydraForce said they are ideally suited for use in equipment such as aerial lifts, forklift trucks, telehandlers and self-propelled booms — applications that typically require precise control and load holding, Price said. “If it rotates or moves linearly, and it requires load sense checks and low leakage/load holding, there is a potential for use,” he noted. dp