Viking Xtreme Valves Built for Extreme EnvironmentsViking Xtreme Valves Built for Extreme Environments

Here's a standardized valve designed to operate in non-standard extreme environments. Parker Hannifin's Viking Xtreme is an industrial inline valve that is designed to be resistant to salt spray and vibration, and it can perform at temperatures ranging from -40F to 140F, according to Parker. The valve can take pressure to 232 psi, and it comes in port sizes: 1/8 to 1/2. It's designed to hit these harsh notes as a standard product, without custom engineering.

Extreme valves have to operate dependably in harsh environments such as transportation or in rugged military locations. "Extreme engineering is increasing the demand for valves that can take more than -40F temperatures. You're getting into -50F and -60F in some markets," Bob Buerkel, a product manager at Parker Hannifin,told Design News. "That's a movement we are starting to see. Having a valve that says -40F gets us into conversations you wouldn't have had before."

One of the advantages of the Viking Extreme is that it offers the ability to withstand harsh environments as standard product. "Extreme environments include transportation applications -- train, buses, or military armored vehicles," said Buerkel. "This valve gets them closer to test and verify without the expense of resources of designing something special."

The valve was designed to combine performance with compact installation dimensions that are well suited for general to harsh industrial applications, as well as mobile-related applications. It can be installed as a single valve for point-of-use applications or mounted on aluminum bar manifolds for centralized applications.

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Some geographies have built-in harsh environments. "In Russia there are climate extremes that you have to accommodate. When you develop a product with these specific ranges, they come at you with additional requirements beyond what your standard product was based upon," Gary Baumgardner, chief engineer at Pneumatic Division North America at Parker Hannifin, told us. "So we test it. We test at customer extremes such as going into a tunnel and experiencing the thermal shock of coming out of that environment."

Parker developed the Viking Xtreme in response to a growing need for standardized equipment in non-standard environments. "We do more environmental testing than we did 20 years ago because we're going into markets that require the greater range in temperature," said Baumgardner.

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Viking Xtreme is a fully featured valve that has multiple solenoid voltages incorporating standard or mobile-rated coils. Remote pilot valves are also available. Parker notes that applications with salt spray and high vibration requirements can benefit from the Viking Xtreme valve features, which include stainless-steel end fasteners, internal springs, and solenoid armatures.

Rob Spiegel has covered automation and control for 15 years, 12 of them for Design News. Other topics he has covered include supply chain technology, alternative energy, and cyber security. For 10 years he was owner and publisher of the food magazine, Chile Pepper.