In 2015, transportation and electronics comprised 65% of the fluid dispensing market value. Industry aside, if your business relies on dispensing solutions to create your products, you can’t afford to deal with unpredictable scenarios. In order to create high-quality products every single time, your dispensing machines and dispense valves need to be working to their full potential. But evaluating whether that’s currently happening can be a bit of a challenge. To determine whether your dispensing valves are truly serving your needs, you may want to ask some of the questions outlined below.
Are Your Dispense Valves Appropriate For the Fluid You’re Using?
The type of fluid you dispense should determine the kind of dispense valves your business uses. That may seem like an obvious point, but you’d be surprised by how many companies are attempting to rely on valves that are a poor fit for the dispensing fluid in question. If you’re dispensing a thicker fluid, for example, you’ll likely benefit from a high-pressure valve that provides excellent control. Thinner fluids, on the other hand, usually require thinner dispensing tips to maximize precision. There are also other fluids that are extremely challenging to work with, which may necessitate the use of dispensing equipment that won’t cause premature curing or moisture absorption. You should consider your fluid type carefully prior to selecting your dispensing equipment and valves.
Is Your Dispensing System Consistent?
If you want to create a superior product every single time (and what business doesn’t?), you need to have a consistent dispensing system. Uncontrollable variations in precision or volume simply won’t yield the results your organization needs to succeed. Having to make a lot of manual adjustments to obtain the correct outcome can translate into wasted time and money for your business. Your dispense valves and dispensing machine shouldn’t take an extraneous amount of time to set up, nor should the end results be inconsistent. While the use of a system controller may help, it’s possible that these inconsistencies could come down to your choice in valves.
Are You Spending Too Much Time on System Maintenance?
Valve maintenance is a necessary part of operations, but you need to determine how much maintenance is too much. If you’re being forced to perform valve and system maintenance every week due to a weekend shut-down, you should consider what that maintenance is actually costing you in terms of downtime and waste. And if that maintenance cannot even be performed on-site, that’s a huge cost concern for your organization. In some cases, this could result in unnecessary shutdowns that could be avoided with different dispensing equipment choices. Be sure to conduct some thorough research into your options and to prioritize potential maintenance drawbacks when making your final selections.
If you suspect that your current dispensing equipment isn’t serving your needs, we’re here to help. For more information on our valves and other equipment, please contact us today.
