Ball Valve Components: Types, Manufacturing Processes

A valve is referred to as device that controls, directs, or regulates the liquid flow by either closing, opening, or partially obstructing the flow. It is a mechanical device that can control pressure or the fluid flow without external assistance used across industries such as Oil & Gas, Water & Wastewater, Food Processing, Power, Fertilizer, Beverages, and Pharmaceuticals…. The fluid can be air, water, metal, gas, slurry, etc. Today, ball valve components are in high demand and are used in all types of industries - Oil and Gas, Water and Waste, Food Processing, Power, Fertilizer, Beverages, and Pharmaceuticals, for their ease of operation and maintenance, and durability. These valves hold significant market value.

A ball valve is a device designed to control flow and it uses a ball-shaped disc to regulate or stop the flow. These are of different types: ● Three-way valve ● Floating Ball Valve, Top Entry, Side Entry ● Three-piece Body ● Single Body ● Split Body

The ball valve is a shut-off device that controls liquid or gas flow using a rotating ball with a bore. Different parts/components of a ball valve are shell or body, bonnet, ball Actuator, disc, sleeve, seal Ring, trim, stem, and packaging.

● Valve Body: The valve body is one of the most crucial components, responsible for containing internal parts and enabling on/off control. ● Stem: The ball valve stem connects the ball to other external factors. The stem inside the valve controls the direction of the ball’s rotation. ● Rotary Ball: The rotary ball has a central hole that allows media to flow through. The stems inside it are responsible for controlling the ball's direction. ● Seats: The seats are disc-shaped components placed between the body and ball to provide support and sealing.

The different materials used to manufacture ball valve components are Stainless Steel, Brass, Bronze, Chrome, Titanium, PVC, CPVC, Teflon, and Flex.

Actuator: Pneumatic actuators operate the ball valve by converting compressed air into mechanical motion to turn the valve and a spring to return the valve to the normal position. The different actuators are electric, manual, pneumatic, and hydraulic.

Bonnet: The Bonnet is one of the ball valve body parts used to cover this opening, and just like the body, it serves as a pressure boundary at the second stage. The bonnet holds the ball and stem assembly in place, and its cap is securely fastened to the valve body.

Ball: The ball is another one of the ball valve components. A flow control device uses a perforated, pivoting, and hollow ball to control liquid flow through its path and centre. The ball has a connection point for a shaft that permits the ball's rotation.

Trim: The trim consists of several ball valve spare parts, including the disc, seat, sleeve, and stem. In the trim, the Seat and the Disc together help determine the performance of the ball valve.

Packaging: The space between the bonnet and the valve stem needs to help prevent leaks. The packing prevents leaks in the space between the bonnet and the valve stem. Teflon is the best choice for sealing since leaks can cause damage to the ball valve system and its environment.

High-quality ball valves are developed under strict quality control standards. To begin the ball valve component manufacturing process, the following facilities should be present in the manufacturing unit. Here is the step-by-step manufacturing process of the ball valve.

● Raw Material - The first step is to import fine quality raw material. ● Casting with Induction Furnace - The scrap material is heated using an induction furnace until it liquefies. Later, the molten metal is tested using a Spectrometer to check the impurities present. Further, the casting is performed where the molten metal is poured safely into molds. ● Rolling and cutting - To reduce its thickness and make it uniform, the hot casting is ejected from the mold and run through the rolling machine. It gives the ball valve an accurate and desired finish. ● Forging - Once the desired length is achieved, the red-hot rod is forged into the desired shape through the forging machine. ● Shot Blasting machines - In the next step, the forged rod gets transferred from trimming, where the burr is cleaned using the power plus machine. Later, the rod passes through the shot blasting machine, where the surface is smoothed.

● CNC Machines - To correct the threads and dimensions, the multi-axis and CNC machines are used. ● Chrome and nickel plating - In this step, the formed component is sent for external surface treatment such as plating. ● Fitting - The final step in the ball valve process is manual assembly and fitting of the entire valve. This process is majorly used to develop ball bearings. It has certain generic parts including the inner ring, the outer ring, and the rolling ball.

The following are the primary materials for the ball valve components: ● One commonly used material for ball valve components is glass-filled nylon thermoplastic. ● Laminated cloth-based phenolic ● Peek—Polyetheretherketone ● 410 Stainless steel ● Inconel X-750 ● Linen-Based Phenolic Laminate ● 17-7 PH stainless steel When you have learned about the ball valve components, it is time to dig further and understand their post-processing.

The ball valve components are subjected to several surface treatments leading to better life and functioning. ● Cold Sprayed Tungsten Carbide ● Nickel Plating

Cold Spraying Tungsten Carbide: The process of cold spraying can be defined as high-kinetic energy when the air compresses accelerates the metal particles towards both metallic and non-metallic substrates. One major advantage of cold spraying is that it requires no heating of the ball. As a result, internal stresses and deformation will not occur during the spraying process.

Nickel Plating: ENP (Electroless Nickel Plating) can be applied on the ball valve components and other valve body parts to reduce the friction between the ball and seat and reduce torque for smoother valve operation and enhance corrosion protection.

At Custiv, a team of inventors and engineers address challenges in the fragmented manufacturing industry. With over 20 years of experience in the automotive and robotic sectors, it has developed products and worked in the supply chain and procurement industry.

As the leading contract manufacturing company, we offer a wide range of ball valve components along with prototyping, CNC machining, casting, plastic injection molding, forging, and more.

To learn more about the ball valve components, ball valve component manufacturing, valve body parts, or valve spare parts, get in touch with Custiv today!