Conbraco Industries now finds it easier to size actuators to their valves, thanks to a highly sophisticated web application developed by Team Technology, Inc.

Conbraco Industries is a name known around the world for their Apollo brand ball valves and actuators.  Actuators are mechanical devices used to turn valves on or off.  These devices are found anywhere valves are automated, from restaurants, to factories.  Actuators come in many different sizes and configurations to fit all types of applications.   Because of the, ever increasing, size of their product line Conbraco found it increasingly more difficult to accurately size actuators to their valves.

THE CHALLENGE:  Learn the complex process of sizing actuators to valves and turn that knowledge into an easy to use web application. 

The process of sizing an actuator to a valve is not a simple one.  When a customer calls a Conbraco Industries customer service representative it can take up to 20 minutes to find the correct actuator to fit the valve the customer wants to use.  This process involves asking the customer several questions about their valve application.  The customer must relay information about pipe size, media pressure, media type, ambient temperature, media temperature, etc.  They must also provide information about the kind of seats required in the valve, the type of material the valve is made from, and so forth.  Once the customer service representative has this much information they begin by looking up the torque required to open and close the specified valve under the given conditions.  After they know the torque required they must then ask the customer more questions, such as, “Will you be powering the actuator with air pressure (pneumatic) or electricity?”  If electric, “What voltage is available?”  If pneumatic, “How much air pressure is available?”  Once these and many more questions are answered the representative again dives into the lookup charts and cross-reference material.  If it is a particularly difficult scenario they will call an engineer and get advice.  Once the correct actuator is identified the representative again looks through reference material to locate the correct mounting hardware to attach the actuator to the valve.  The process takes a great deal of time and effort on the part of both the representative and the customer. 

THE RESULT:  A very sophisticated web application that sizes actuators to valves in a fraction of the time required manually. 

Team Technology was able to step in and create a web application that allows customers and customer service representatives to size actuators to valves, along with mounting kits and accessories.  The application is robust, extensible, fast, and user friendly.  The application was built using Object Oriented techniques based on Microsoft’s latest .Net technology and uses the proven reliability of Microsoft SQL Server 2000 for data storage.  Customer service representatives now have a reliable tool to help them perform to their maximum, while customers now have a way to get the information they need directly over the Internet.

Interested in learning more about our solutions? Call 704-849-0266 Ext. 62 or email ctoner@teamt.com