Product category:
Process Hardware (Pipes, Nozzles, Heaters, etc)
News Release from: Parker Hannifin Instrumentation Products Division | Subject: PTFree connect manifolds
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 12 June 2001
Manifolds remove taper thread from
instrumentation
Parker Instrumentation has announced what it calls aa major step forward in manifold technology with a new design that is completely free of taper thread connections.
Parker Instrumentation announces a major step forward in manifold technology with a new design that is completely free of taper thread connections The manifolds make it possible to optimise the integrity of pressure and flow instrumentation systems by eliminating PTFE tape or liquid thread sealant when making connections, and with it any risk of introducing contaminants into the fluid system - a major cause of problems in the field
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 18 Feb 2000 at 8.00am (UK)
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Called PTFree connect, the manifold range incorporates precision factory-fitted and tested compression tube ends.
This advance removes the last, obstinate barrier to the process engineer's goal of building process instrumentation systems without taper threaded interconnections.
Because taper threads rely on the use of additives to ensure a seal, they inevitably open up avenues for system contamination and/or mis-assembly.
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In contrast, Parker's PTFree connect provides a high-integrity pre-assembled connection for a compression fitting which is completed by simply turning the nut through a quarter revolution.
Moreover, this form of connection ensures that a manifold need never be scrapped because of the common problem of galling or crossing threads, as the integral tube ends are low-cost sacrificial items which can be replaced with ease should they ever be inadvertently damaged.
PTFree connect represents the final step in some 90 years of engineering innovation aimed at eliminating the threaded connections required when constructing instrument manifold arrangements.
From the very first designs of pressure and flow instrumentation for oil and gas applications (circa 1910) which were based on piping fitted with single valves - and which required some 33 separate threaded connections - the industry has introduced a stream of improvements.
Successive innovations of steel tubing, compression tube fittings, multi-valve manifold blocks, manifold mounting flanges on transmitters, and base mounting of manifolds, have steadily eliminated taper threads and simplified installation.
The only taper threads remaining today are the two that come as standard on manifolds - Parker's new PTFree connect innovation eliminates these.
"Taper threads are a legacy of outmoded 'plumbing' technology which can lead to unreliability and higher costs", says Mal Chapman, Parker Instrumentation's Manifold Product Manager.
"The industry's disillusionment with the situation has already led to ad-hoc fixes in the shape of kidney flanged connectors for transmitters featuring integral compression tube fittings. Request a free brochure from Parker Hannifin Instrumentation Products Division ...
PTFree provides an elegant solution to the problem, assuring users of integrity.".
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