A valve is a device which is used to control the direction, pressure and the flow of fluids (liquid, gas, powder). It is an important controlling component of the fluid power system, and is widely used in mechanical products in areas such as petrochemical, mining, power, health, electronics, robot industry and so on.
The emergence and mature applications of metal 3D printing technology, as well as intelligent software such as CFD and CAE, are driving and leading new changes in valve design and manufacturing.
New Generation of lightweight Hydraulic Manifold
The hydraulic valve manifold is a complicated integration, where the internal passages cross each other and the inlet arrangements are complicated. For the traditional hydraulic valve manifold, in order to manufacture internal-crossed manifolds, it is necessary to drill the hole and then to block the unnecessary drilled hole with screw plugs.
But there exists undoubtedly the possibility of leakage with this kind of manufacturing method. Besides, internal pathways made by drilling are straight and have 90-degree turn. According to CFD (Computer Fluid Dynamics) analysis results, some areas will have the problem of less flow and some will have the turbulence.

Dr. Zhu Yi from Zhejiang University’s Metal Additive Manufacturing Laboratory (Associate Professor, State Key Laboratory of Fluid Power and Electromechanical Systems, School of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University) researches mainly how Metal 3D printing (powder bed technology) is applied on the innovative design of hydraulic components, and started a cooperation with Eplus3D in this direction.
Based on the additive manufacturing process, the laboratory team he leads redesigns the runner structure and the interface layout of traditional hydraulic manifolds, and do tests, make the optimization continuously.
The weight of the hydraulic manifolds was reduced from 1.5 kg to 0.98 kg, the weight loss was up to 35%. The volume was reduced from 535 cm3 to 116 cm3, the volume reduction was up to 78%.
The flow characteristics were improved by changing the right-angle intersection flow path to smooth arc transition. Therefore, the local pressure loss was reduced when the oil passes through the flow path.
In the meantime, because metal additive manufacturing can form the complex integrated structure of the hydraulic manifold, no additional process drilling is needed, which reduces the risk of leakage and improves the performance and stability of the valve.
For more information about EPlus3D, please visit www.eplus3d.com.
To learn more about Zhejiang University, please visit www.zju.edu.cn/english/.
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