Fluid Line Technology – From Concept to Reality
Partnering with the right manufacturer can have a major impact to the success of your project. Over time the support delivered by a quality manufacturing partner can significantly reduce the risk associated with failures resulting in downtime. Listening to the needs of the customer coupled with a culture to innovate has been the cornerstone of Fluid Line Technology.
Since 1989 Fluid Line Technology has been answering the needs of the Bio-Technology, Bio-Pharmaceutical, and Life Science Manufacturing customer with high quality stainless steel components.
It all starts with the needs of the customer to design and develop custom solutions that have evolved into an extensive offering of standard BPE and ISO compliant products.
For over 25 years Fluid Line Technologies has been responsible for bringing to market a series of superior products. They continue to support an exclusive list of clients as a preferred supplier and partner.
Fluid Line Sample Valve or “Safety Caps” Improve Operator Safety
One of the most successful product lines Fluid Line has developed are their Sanitary Vent, Bleed, and Sample valves. Fluid Line’s Bleed Valves were developed working closely with customers to find a way to reduce the risk associated with closed or capped sanitary piping systems. Process piping systems are often charged with Pressure, Chemicals, or High Temperature media, posing a potential danger to the operator.
The most commonly used connection in an aseptic or sanitary piping system is a sanitary Tri Clamp. The Tri Clamp offers a clean and easy way to assemble and disassemble a piping system for cleaning and sterilization without the use of tools.
One of the dangers of opening a closed piping system is to ensure all the pressure, chemical, or high temperature has been evacuated before an operator attempts to disassemble the Tri Clamp couplers and end connections.
Transfer panels are commonly designed into many Sanitary batch process facilities. These panels use a series of jumpers to feed and evacuate tanks and process equipment on a routine basis. In some plants there can be hundreds of “U” shaped jumpers with Tri Clamp end connections.
Problem – How do we protect the operator and ensure the process from an uncontrolled release of product?
Fluid Line Bleed valves offer a solution to identify that your piping system is empty and depressurized. The Fluid Line Bleed valve series are available in multiple sizes and configurations. This allows engineers and operators to weld a Bleed valve into a low point drain, pumps casing drains, transfer panel jumpers, or solid end caps in a piping system.
Having a bleed valve installed, as an integral part of your piping system, allows the operators to procedurally improve their safety by simply opening the Bleed valve prior to opening a pipe connection.
Many large Pharmaceutical companies have named the Fluid Line Bleed valves “Safety Caps”. These Safety Caps have become a key component to improving site safety programs.
The Fluid Line Bleed Valve’s Hygienic design delivers absolute minimum dead leg, Non-rotating stem to extend seal life, and quick assembly and dis-assembly to reduce maintenance time.
The valve offers a large assortment of handle types including a submersible handle option. All handles have locking screws to protect from coming loose and separating from the valve. All materials of construction combined with submersible handles allow full autoclavability as a full assembly.
Colored Handles allow the End User to identify there systems by color. For Example, Red (Steam) Orange (Hot WFI) Blue (Chilled Water) Green (CIP) etc.
Peace of Mind Guarantee – Third Party Tested by an Independent Lab to 150 Autoclave cycles
Fluid Line offers a replaceable EPDM tip, allowing the valve to handle a fully submersible CIP wash with CIP 100, A fully submersible RODI rinse, followed by an Autoclave cycle. The Peace of Mind Guarantee allows the End User to run their Fluid Line Valves for a minimum of 150 wash, rinse, and autoclave cycles. No other valve in the industry offers a Guarantee. After 150 cycles, simply ship the valves back to Fluid Line for a full maintenance and testing. During the preventative maintenance, many end users change the handle colors to easily identify which valves have been maintained.
In summary, the Fluid Line sample valve has been an effective and proven addition to site safety. Please contact one of the sanitary process experts at Acuity Process to learn more and explore ways to integrate a Safety Cap in your piping system.
Fluid Line Sample Valve
Another member of the Fluid Line valve family is the Sample Valve. Sample valves offer similar flow rate to a ½” Diaphragm valve and can be fabricated and installed in multiple configurations and end connections.
Fluid Line Vent valve
In addition, the Fluid Line Vent valve has the smallest flow rates and is available in both Inline and Angle series. The vent valve is commonly used to evacuate air mass when filling sanitary tanks or filter housings. It is often used to drain liquids from filter housings or pressure cans.
Fluid Line Single Use and Limited Use Bleed Valve
The newest member of the Fluid Line Valve family is the Single Use and Limited use Bleed valve. Single use can handle up to 3 autoclave cycles. Limited Use can handle up to 15 autoclave cycles.
In summary, Fluid Line valves offer the following features and benefits.
- All Fluid Line valves are fully customizable to suit individual customer’s needs.
- Bleed and Sample valves have a steam in place (SIP) design option. Standard ¼” steam ports can be added to the body. The elastomer tip design is screwed directly in the stem to hold the tip in place when steam cleaning applications are required.
- All valves are designed to have minimum dead leg in the closed position. Each valve will have only a drop of fluid remaining internally; depending on the fluid’s viscosity and surface tension rating.
- Bleed and Sample valves have an optional 45-degree bend in their outlets, either to the handle or to the clamp. This is to optimize sampling on tanks, vessels, bioreactor jackets, draining distribution panels, or ergonomic point of use sampling.
- All seal materials are USP CLASS VI compliant; KAltraz, EPDM, Viton, TFM and Red and Clear Silicone are available upon request.
- Broad availability on material of construction; Stainless Steel T316L, AL6XN, Hastelloy C-22 and C276.
- We offer 7 different handle colors on all our valves for easy identification during periodic system cleaning or flushing, use in hazardous lines, or preventative maintenance replacement cycles. All Fluid Line handle styles are interchangeable in order to meet changing customer needs.
- Submersible handles are offered for the entire valve to be submersed for cleaning. This saves time and labor by avoiding disassembly, allowing for bulk cleaning, and quick reassembly of production lines.
- Toggle and Toggle Safety handles offer the convenience to sample “as needed”. Toggle handles have a quick fully-open and fully-closed handle with the ability stay open as needed. Toggle Safety handles have the same quick design features, except that the valve is forced closed as soon as the handle is released.
- Snap handles are a low cost alternative employing a quickly removable, three piece design. They are intended for general use with a 12-18 months preventative maintenance cycle.
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