Electronic Flow Valve

What is an Electronic Flow Valve?

An Electronic Flow Valve is a device that is able to control the flow rate of fluid (liquid and gas) with electronic signal. Ideally, the output flow rate is linearly proportional to input signal. Depend on the type of medial it is regulating, when it’s air, it is called electronic flow regulator, electronic air flow control valve, electronic pneumatic flow control valve; and when the media is water, it’s called electronic water flow control valve, digital flow control valve, digital flow controller, or proportional needle valve for both types.

There are different types of working principle, and in this article we will be introducing you the proportional needle valve type driven by a stepper motor powered linear actuator. We will firstly introduce you what type of electronic flow valve we offer, followed by the working principle and with what is the main advantage of KaoLu’s proportional needle valve, and then conclude with what you should think about before purchasing an electronic flow valve.

What type of Electronic Flow Valve does KaoLu offer?

KaoLu offers 5 types of digital flow control valve. One advantage is that it can control both gas and liquid. Please click on the photo link below for further information

• FC20 : Flow rate up to 45 L/min of nitrogen gas @ 6 bar or 750 mL/min of water @ 6 bar
• FC120: Flow rate up to 200 L/min of nitrogen gas @ 6 bar or 3.5 L/min of water @ 6 bar
• FC300: Flow rate up to 450 L/min of nitrogen gas @ 6 bar or 8 L/min of water @ 6 bar
• FC1000: Flow rate up to 650 L/min of nitrogen gas @ 5 bar or 12 L/min of water @ 5 bar
• FC2000: Flow rate up to 2000 L/min of nitrogen gas @ 5 bar or 30 L/min of water @ 5 bar

Please refer to our youtube channel for some of the interesting applications:

What is working principle of an Electronic Flow Regulator?

There are different types of Electronic Flow Regulator. Here we will be explaining the type that utilizes a linear stepper motor actuator and proportional needle valve.

So, what is the advantage of KaoLu’s electronic air flow control valve or electronic water flow control valve?

Our parameters tells all the story. With FC series electronic flow valve, we are able to withstand 7 bar of perpendicular operating pressure, with a resolution as high as 20 mL/min of air, repeatability of 0.1% F.S, and 0.1% of linearity. This is due to the motor we used, the extremely low tolerance of mechanical parts, the fine thread needle we used which is extremely difficult to reproduce by others, and the control system we designed.




It is important to understand whether the media you used falls into the flow range of the operating valve. As each media has different density so the flow range would be different from the nominal flow range. Next is whether the media used is compatible with the wet material and whether you would also need the body to be special material. The operating pressure is another caveat, where if you simply needs flow control, sometimes it would not be a very important factor.

Next is the performance, with some applications that needs fine control and adjustment between steps, such as laser cutting, the resolution dictated by the control logic and motor performance plays an important role here. Furthermore, as the motion system requires to overcome initial inertia, the start flow point is should be considered.

Then comes the control system where the you should check what type of control system do suppliers offer? Here we provide an external driver that has a cable connected to the control valve. The great advantage that we offer is that should you want to operate the valve from distant away from the site, we offer RS485 modbus where you could control the valve up to half a mile away from the valve.

We hope you have enjoyed reading the article, understand about stepper motor driver electronic flow control valve, understand about our products, and finally help you with selecting the right valve.


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