At the heart of many critical industrial systems lies the precision and reliability of servo valves. But in demanding environments, even the slightest weakness can lead to critical failure. That’s why durability isn’t just a feature; it’s a necessity. Consider testing applications, requiring extreme precision in repeated cycles, often involve machines running 24/7. These machines endure millions of cycles weekly. Consequently, a valve failure that interrupts the cycle results in wasted data and manufacturing time. Therefore, durability and reliability are paramount. We are going to look into the critical importance of servo valve durability, and how Domin Valves are engineered to high specifications to ensure uninterrupted operation.
Why Does Valve Durability Matter?
Servo valves are fundamental to the precise control of hydraulic fluid flow and pressure, enabling accurate motion and force control within hydraulic systems. Failures commonly attributed to fluid contamination, wear, seal degradation, and leakage. This manifests as sluggish or erratic responses, compromised fluid flow regulation, increased energy consumption, and overheating. Prolonged operation under these conditions damages components on the system, such as pumps and seals. Ultimately, this reduces overall system reliability and increases machine downtime.
Another application is robotic automation, where servo valves enable precise robotic arm movements crucial for manufacturing and assembly. However, failures in servo valves, attributed to fluid contamination and leakage, lead to increased energy consumption and overheating. Consequently, costs escalate, and business margins diminish. This failure not only induces repair and maintenance costs but also results in potential revenue loss due to lost production time and lower sales volumes. Therefore, durable valves protect the integrity of business process.
Domin’s Approach to Enhancing Valve Durability
Traditional two-stage valves are particularly vulnerable to contamination issues, as their intricate internal passages and pilot-stage designs are prone to blockage and leakage.
At Domin, we have engineered our servo valves to be exceptionally resistant to contamination, ensuring superior reliability and longevity, key technologies include:
- Direct Drive – Unlike conventional two-stage servo valves, which use pilot stages with small orifices and inbuilt filters, Domin Valves use mechanical couplings that eliminate clogging and failure of the valve. Therefore, Domin Valves have fewer components, no parasitic loss, and less stringent maintenance and repair requirements.
- Reduced Weak Points and Enhanced Torque Amplification – Domin’s designs use optimised gearing to provide a balance between control accuracy and chip shear performance, improving resistance to particulate contamination. This ensures consistent performance even in harsh operating conditions.
- Advanced Onboard Electronics – Integrated sensors and electronics continuously monitor valve performance, allowing for early detection of anomalies caused by contamination. In critical situations, the system can shut down the valve before damage occurs.
- Optimised Flow Paths with Metal 3D Printing – Using metal 3D printing, Domin has created highly efficient internal geometries that minimise pressure losses and turbulence. This optimised design helps prevent debris accumulation, ensuring smooth operation.
- Durable Materials and Precision Manufacturing – Domin uses high-strength maraging steel and precision machining techniques to create valves with tight tolerances, incredible hardness and extreme stiffness. This minimises wear and degradation over time, reducing the introduction of internal contaminants.
To eliminate leakage associated with traditional sectional and modular stack valves, Domin’s 3D-printed servo valves feature an integrated design with optimised internal fluid pathways. This not only reduces the need for external plumbing but also enables highly efficient, compact, and high-performance hydraulic circuits.
Why Maraging Steel?
Hydraulic components are often exposed to cyclic loading, with repeated stress as pressure builds and releases. Maraging steel offers an unusual combination of high tensile strength and high fracture toughness. The rare combination of characteristics makes it well suited for applications that require high strength over time, hence enabling components to resist failure over many millions of cycles of operation. This is critical in hydraulic applications where parts must endure long service lives without cracking or failing under cyclic stresses.
- High Strength and Toughness: Maraging steel offers exceptional tensile strength and toughness, making it ideal for manufacturing hydraulic valve bodies, pistons, cylinders, and pump housings that endure these demanding conditions.
- Corrosion Resistance: Maraging steel exhibits excellent resistance to oxidation and moisture-related degradation, making it particularly suitable for industrial and marine environments. This durability is attributed to the characteristic precipitation hardening of its intermetallic compounds. Compared to tempered martensite steels, maraging steels exhibit lower corrosion rates, especially in saline and acidic environments.
A Partnership for Success for the Die-casting Industry
Visi-Trak are accelerating technological advancement within the die casting industry. Their systems are critical to keeping machines running and making good parts. Visi-Trak were looking for a new partner to improve their manufacturing processes. Tom Vann, Visi- Trak’s President, was impressed by Domin’s products and he shared feedback after installation; “We have now fully transitioned from the Woodward HRT servo valve to the Domin S6 Pro servo valve for piloting the Olmsted 32mm, 40mm, 50mm, and 63mm high performance cartridge valves. The Domin Valves have proven to be very rugged and reliable with outstanding performance.” Domin Valves provide extreme durability in a tough environment, which has given Visi-Trak the ability to sell their die casting systems with unparalleled performance and reliability.
Leading to a Sustainable & Cost-Effective Hydraulics Future
Leveraging the design freedom of metal 3D printing combined with what we learnt from the issues in traditional designs, we could eliminate failure prone components. As industries evolve, so must the components that drive them. Domin Valves have reshaped the hydraulics landscape with fewer failures, longer service life, reduced maintenance, and significant energy savings, all contributing to a more sustainable, cost-effective future. Domin is transforming motion control with next-generation hydraulic solutions. Now is the time to embrace innovation built for the challenges of tomorrow.
To understand more about metal 3D printing fatigue and Domin’s processes for quality control, read Domin’s Approach to Fatigue Testing.
