Dinamo Valve Set-up | Real World Application and Scenarios
Frequently asked questions and case study scenarios to optimize the implementation of the DigiVac Dinamo valve
Guide to optimize the use of your Dinamo Valve
You just bought a new Digivac Dinamo valve and you’re excited to get it up and running. This blog provides your tips for optimizing your system when adding the Dinamo valve with either the StrataVac Touch or FYRA controllers.
Baseline Your Vacuum System: Before you add in your new controller and valve you need to make sure that you don’t have any leaks in your system. Your system doesn’t have any leaks you say? Well you may be correct, but many times we find that our customers have unknown leaks in their system that is effecting how low their vacuum system can get down to. It is better to find this out and fix them before you add any new equipment. This will help reduce the need for troubleshooting once the new controller and valve is installed.
With your system set up, place a sensor on your chamber and pump down your chamber as low as the pump will pull it. This may take some time depending on your chamber size and pump. This is important as with this established, control expectations can be managed.
Q) What if my chamber does not pull as low a vacuum as I expect, or as I have seen in the past?
This could be caused by leaks in your chamber or along any number of connections in your system. By using a vacuum gauge, this is pretty easy to isolate. The Bullseye Precision Gauge is a great portable vacuum gauge with onboard analytics and graphics that can be a valuable asset in chasing down leaks in your system. See one our our previous blogs about baselining using a Bullseye gauge here.
- Begin by putting the sensor directly on your pump and pulling vacuum (dead-heading the pump).
- Take note of what vacuum level you are able to reach.
- Depending on your system, you begin by adding one component back to the vacuum path and repeating the test until you have the full system back together.
- By doing this you will be able to locate any points that are contributing to a leak.
With that out of the way, it is now time to put the Dinamo valve on the system.
The optimal location for installation is directly on your pump. With the StrataVac Touch or FYRA Controller turned OFF, The side of the Dinamo labeled “Pump” is mounted on the pump. And then connect the other side to your system.
Now, begin by turning on your pump. Then turn on the StrataVac Touch controller, you’ll see the Digivac splash screen pop up and stay for a few moments. At this point now you can run another baseline test and press the “Full Vac” button on the right hand side of the screen. This puts the Dinamo into Full Vacuum mode. Allow the chamber to pump down once more and note what baseline you achieve. You are now ready to control your vacuum system.
Q) I am achieving the vacuum level that I want, but I’m noticing some oscillations in my control. What can I do about that?
The wonderful thing about the Dinamo valve, besides the patented valve technology invented by Digivac, is when you pair it with our StrataVac Touch Controller (or FYRA Controller), you get the added benefit of PID Tuning. If you press the settings icon in the bottom right corner of the screen you will see a screen that allows you to adjust your proportional, integral, and derivative variables for your control system. The numbers in the system should be a good starting point for tuning. From there you can make the P smaller or larger, and then change your setpoint in your control range and see how the system behaves. Repeat this process making any changes necessary to the I variable and the D variable. Read more below on a fully detailed description:
Excerpt from “PID CONTROL IN VACUUM SYSTEMS”
- A simple method of tuning is to set the Integral and Derivative terms to zero and the Proportional term to a small value. This should result in a stable operation with a fairly large residual Error.
- Double the P term and make some large changes to the set-point and look for oscillations in the vacuum level.
- Keep doubling and disturbing the set-point until oscillations are seen.
- Once oscillations are seen, drop the P term back to about 40% of the current value.
- Increase the I term slowly until the vacuum level is either stable at the set-point or oscillating slightly around it.
- Leave D alone if response is acceptable, or increase D to remove unwanted overshoot/undershoot.
- To improve the overshoot/undershoot situation slowly increase the D term, disturb the set-point, and repeat until satisfactory response is observed.
Lean More About PID Tuning in Our White Paper here
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