Category: Industry Trends

Working principle

The sensor system accurately detects valve stem movement, the

position of the valve at any given time, with an accuracy of

± 0.1mm through the use of microchip sensors. To locate the

current valve position, sensor chips inside the sensor board

calculate the angle between the axial magnetic field produced by

an indication pin mounted on the valve stem.

The solenoid valves receive signals from the PLC system

to activate or deactivate the air-operated valve. It then transmits

feedback signals indicating up to four valve positions and

conditions back to the PLC system.

In the control unit, up to three electric solenoid valves can

physically convert compressed air into mechanical energy to

activate or deactivate the pneumatic valve actuator.

Each control unit fits any Alfa Laval hygienic valve and

provides a tolerance band for valves to prevent product

contamination and failure. This eliminates the need to re-adjust

the sensors and boosts productivity.

LEDs conveniently display all the valve positions, solenoid

activation, setup and local fault indication on the control unit.

Standard design

The ThinkTop Basic Intrinsically Safe valve sensing and control

unit consists of a proven NAMUR feedback sensor system with

light-emitting diodes (LEDs), low voltage solenoid valves, ready

for connection to a electrical barriers and to

any programmable logic controller (PLC) system with a digital

interface. It fits on all Alfa Laval hygienic valves; no adaptor is

required.

Working principle

By an indication pin mounted on the valve stem,

the NAMUR feedback sensors detects valve stem movement, the

position of the valve at any given time, with the adjusted accuracy

of the feedback sensors.

The Alfa Laval ThinkTop Basic Intrinsically Safe is fitted with up to

two solenoid valves that can convert compressed air and the

electrical PLC signal into mechanical energy to activate or

deactivate the pneumatic valve actuator.

Introduction

The Alfa Laval ThinkTop® Basic Intrinsically

Safe is a modular, explosion-safe automated valve control unit

that offers cost-effective operation and standard functionality for

automated sensing and control of hygienic valves. It provides real

time information about valve operating status 24/7 while

boosting productivity.

Application

The ThinkTop Basic Intrinsically Safe is designed to control the

fluid handing process in hygienic applications across the dairy,

food, beverage, biotechnology, pharmaceutical and many

other industries.

Benefits

• Reliable valve sensing and control

• Proven and inherently safe design

• Low total cost of ownership

• Watertight design

• Easy to operate

Introduction

The Alfa Laval ThinkTop V55 is a slimmer, smarter, one-size-fits

all sensing and control unit for diaphragm valves used in the

pharmaceutical, biotech, and next-generation food industries.

Built on the reliable Alfa Laval ThinkTop V-series platform, this

valve control unit is trusted by dairy, food, beverage, and brewery

manufacturers worldwide for its simplified setup, live replacement

and unmatched peace of mind.

Application

ThinkTop V55 is designed for use in the biopharma industries,

dairy, food and beverage.

Benefits

A single, proven diaphragm valve sensing and control unit

• Peace of mind – optimize valve control and increase uptime

• Simplified setup and replacement – save time and money with

fast, intuitive valve configuration and replacement without

production stops

• Compact and flexible – slimmer profile fits into tight spaces,

minimizing installation footprint and maximizing plant

efficiency

• Real-time monitoring and control – choice of digital, ASI, and

Industry 4.0-based IO-Link communication platforms

• Self-diagnostic technology –prevent unplanned downtime by

monitoring valve health and performance

Working principles

The control unit offers a single sensor solution for diaphragm

valves, and it can be fitted with 0 or 1 solenoid valves. ThinkTop

converts the electrical PLC output signals into mechanical energy

to energize, or de-energize, the air-operated valve. Feedback of

valve position is provided using the physical sensor target

mounted on the valve stem.

Installation with Auto Setup or Live Setup is intuitive and fast. To

initiate Auto Setup, simply press the “SELECT” button and then

the “ENTER” button to begin the setup sequence. The ThinkTop

automatically recognizes the type of valve and completes the

programming sequence fast and efficiently.

Alternatively, the ThinkTop can be set up, without dismantling the

control head, using the built-in Live Setup feature for remote

configuration.

Application

ThinkTop V70 is designed for use in the dairy, food, beverage, and

biopharma industries.

Benefits

• Auto setup

• Automatic valve recognition

• Automatic selection of tolerance band

• Fast, Live and Flex Setup

• 360-degree LED indication

• Burst seat clean

• Pulse seat clean

• Exchangeable (threaded) air-fittings

• Interchangeable with ThinkTop classics

Working principles

The control unit offers a single sensor solution for single seat and

mixproof valves and it can be fitted with up to three solenoid

valves. ThinkTop converts the electrical PLC output signals into

mechanical energy to energize, or de-energize, the air-operated

valve, using the physical sensor target mounted on the valve stem.

Installation with Auto Setup or Live Setup is intuitive and fast. To

initiate Auto Setup, simply press the “SELECT” button and then

the “ENTER” button to begin the setup sequence. The ThinkTop

automatically recognizes the type of valve and completes the

programming sequence fast and efficiently.

Alternatively, the ThinkTop can be set up, without dismantling the

control head, using the built-in Live Setup feature for remote

configuration.

Introduction

ThinkTop V70 takes valve control to a new level and all these new

features are available on any Alfa Laval single-seat and mixproof

valves. While helping to increase production performance and

secure traceability, ThinkTop V70 provides real-time information

on the valve’s operating status 24/7.

ThinkTop V70 is interchangeable with prior ThinkTop versions,

and the appropriate variant is selected based on the number of

solenoid valves. With only one sensor target and included

adapter, ThinkTop V70 is easily retrofittable to existing Alfa Laval

valves.

ThinkTop V70 comes fitted with features such as Auto Setup, Live

Setup and Flex Setup that streamline the setup process, making it

quick and easy. Auto Setup and Live Setup recognize the valve

based on its DNA profile and can complete the valve setup

without any manual interaction.

The burst and pulse seat clean functions are available on

ThinkTop V70. These valve position-based functions control the

optimum seat clean sequence of the valve, making it possible to

save CIP time and achieve up to 95% CIP liquid savings for each

seat clean.