Advances in plastic quick connects benefit industrial equipment

Backed by more than 60 years of design evolution, and capable of meeting stringent requirements, today's plastic tube connectors provide OEMs with lightweight, cost-efficient and reliable design options for hundreds of mission-critical uses. No longer just ideal for medical equipment, these application-proven plastic connectors have increasingly been integrated into laboratory instrumentation and industrial equipment, where the need for reliable, critical connections is paramount, and ease of servicing vital to maintaining production uptime and throughput.

In many industrial and manufacturing processes, and with laboratory and in-plant test and calibration instrumentation, plastic tube connectors are employed to convey substances that can flow, such as liquids and gases, slurries, powders and masses of small solids. Manufacturing, packaging and material handling functions in many diverse industries - including food and beverage, pharmaceutical, oil and gas, alternative fuels, printing and semiconductor manufacturing - have embraced plastic tubing connectors for supplying mission-critical functions such as liquid filling equipment, fuel supplies, and low-pressure pneumatic and hydraulic systems.

Plastic quick-connect couplings

Plastic connectors are particularly well suited for industrial and laboratory equipment because of their light weight, chemical resistance, non-corrosive properties, flexible composites and configurations, ease of making connections and lower cost compared to traditional metal connectors. Nowhere is this more evident than with plastic quick-connect couplings, which are recognised for their ability to provide quick and easy connections and disconnections of tubing for servicing equipment, changing consumables and equipment portability.

In the design process of equipment for fluid handling in laboratory or industrial applications, typically only a small percentage of the overall system is subjected to user interface. These parts, however, should be well designed to reduce or even eliminate the potential for user fault. The choice of connection type depends on a variety of factors, including the expected frequency of connection/disconnection, servicing and safety needs, as well as user expertise. With so many factors to take into consideration, choosing the right connector can present significant challenges.

Choosing the right plastic quick-connect coupling

When frequent maintenance and servicing is required on a system, quick connects are preferred over general threaded fittings for fluid control, and can provide a critical advantage to OEMs desiring to improve user interface performance. They incorporate design features that prevent spillage and minimise the potential of accidental misconnections or leakage during maintenance and servicing.

Equipment maintenance and repair contribute to overall process downtime. Quick connects help minimise service-related downtime by providing quick and easy access to fluid lines that may need to be disconnected during repair and maintenance processes.

Such features as built-in shut-off valves that automatically close the line to stop the fluid flow and prevent leakage while the line is disconnected. Conversely, quick connects can be equipped with open-flow valves that will allow a desired consistent flow, with little flow path impedance, to minimise disturbance to media and allow maximum flow rates - both of which are critical considerations in a number of applications.

Many metal and plastic quick connects, however, are limited by their lack of ergonomics and ease of use, making them slow to understand how to operate, and difficult to manipulate. For example, determining how to execute the basic disconnection can sometimes present a significant challenge, creating safety risks and unnecessary inefficiencies while fumbling with connections. These drawbacks have inhibited quick connect usage by OEM designers, and reduced their effectiveness by frustrating end users and increasing the incidence of spillage and misconnects.

Better quick connect design streamlines the human interface

The latest advances in plastic quick connects deliver a significantly improved level of human engineering, ease of use and operator intuitiveness, when compared to conventional metal and plastic quick connects. These new quick connectors are equipped with intuitively simplistic thumb latch and side latch mechanisms, for one-handed connection and disconnection, which makes for easy handling in laboratory and industrial fluid management applications.

Dual Latch Quick Connect Interface - One of the newest and most versatile plastic quick connect designs available for laboratory and industrial applications incorporates an intuitive dual-latch, push-to-connect design that utilises large, ergonomic buttons providing an audible 'click' on connection, and grips for easy handling, even with gloves.

One new version of the efficient dual latch design, the MQC Series (pictured right) from Value Plastics, a Nordson Company, also provides ten different colour options, allowing for useful colour-coding verification techniques. These male and female connectors are made from nylon and buna-N materials, which are autoclavable, ethylene oxide (EtO) compatible and gamma radiation stable, and capable of a working pressure up to 30 psi. They also provide excellent chemical resistance and are great for higher-temperature applications. The new dual-latch design of quick connect maximises ease of handling and prevents misconnections.

Thumb Latch Quick Connect Interface - The latest plastic quick connect thumb latch designs feature ergonomic grips and automatic shut-off valves for better connecting and disconnecting ease and optimum fluid control. Maximising convenience and versatility, one new design, from Value Plastics, universally interchanges with other thumb latch plastic connectors, and may be used with PVC, polyurethane, silicone and other types of flexible tubing.

These new thumb latch quick connectors, produced in acetal and polypropylene for a variety of application uses, are designed with single barbs capable of increased pull-off resistance when compared to multi-barb styles. Proven to provide a more secure seal and superior tubing retention, this design feature minimises the prospect of leaks and accidental disconnection.

These new features in plastic quick connects enhance operator ease of use, and expand the range of available options for the design of laboratory and industrial equipment by OEM designers.

Side Latch Quick Connect Interface - Significantly improving on the intuitive use aspect of quick connects, new plastic side latch designs achieve an almost instinctive ease of use. One design, also from Value Plastics, available in nylon and for use in small-bore applications in many fluid delivery areas, is particularly intuitive. Users automatically know how to operate the quick connect the minute they pick it up.

These plastic side latch quick connectors are proving to be easy to use, safe, secure and reliable. Audible 'clicks' on connection, ergonomic shape and design simplicity - all aspect of these connectors were engineered to cut down on the likelihood of human error.

Quarter-Turn Lug-Style Interface - A popular connector in instrumentation applications, this connector employs a rotating lug style latch mechanism with an audible 'click' and a visible indication when the pair is fully connected. The interlocking teeth provide an inherently rugged connection, and the rotating collar allows for independent rotation to prevent tube twisting and kinking.

The new BPL Series version of the connector line, by Value Plastics, offers significant ease-of-use advantages over present commercially available lug-style connectors. Its ergonomic ten-point grip on both halves of the connector, and additional gripping area, allow for easier opening and closing of the connector, while two wings have been added to the male side to further facilitate connector operation. This connector offer a feature-rich quick connect.

Plastic quick-connect option for OEMs

Although plastic quick-connects fittings may not be applicable for all plant and laboratory uses - such as high-pressure pneumatics and hydraulics, where metal is generally required - their light weight, design flexibility and ergonomics make them excellent for many applications, such as liquid transfer and filling processes, operating and integrating portable instrumentation, and where fluid connections between flexible equipment are required. Additionally, because of cost considerations, the use of metal quick-connects is sometimes curtailed. Plastic quick-connects, however, present a price point significantly less than metal connectors, enabling OEM designers to more liberally specify their use, incorporating more features and better ergonomics with less cost.

These factors are increasingly positioning plastic quick connects as a very attractive option for many critical applications in laboratory and industrial environments.

Follow the link for more information about the wide range of plastic quick-connect couplings from Value Plastics.