Custom drive valve keys Hurkmans Group

Project leader Eric Brinkhuis of the Hurkmans Groep contacted Apex Dynamics to deliver a custom drive for a new to be developed electric valve key. Since recently the teams of Hurkmans Groep are equipped with this electric valve key to relieve the physical strain of its mechanics.

To open underground gas, water and sewer valves, a technician usually has to manually turn the spindle 20 turns or more with a long T-wrench. Often the spindle must first be made gangable by turning it open and closed again and again during the first few turns. This is how the mechanic gets the spindle clean again. But it is heavy work that requires a lot of force to get the spindle moving, especially the arms and shoulders are heavily loaded by this work. To prevent this, Hurkmans Groep wanted to provide its mechanics with a electric key rest.

A valve wrench is also known as a mobile valve actuator, spindle driver, spindle wrench or crane wrench and is available in various versions in the market. But none of these valve wrenches can be used in combination with standard batteries with which Hurkmans Group's company buses are equipped....

Apex Dynamics selected the gearbox with the right ratio, made the torque-torque curve and designed the housing. Apex Dynamics chose a gearbox PEII120, because it can deliver 370 (real) Newton meters and is lightweight. The drive can be set in 40 stages and the output shaft is equipped with a standard ¾" connection. To absorb the force, a lightweight power arm of 1 meter can be mounted, which can be supported on the tow bar of the van.

In order to count the number of strokes (with a resolution of 0.1 revolutions), the electric valve key is equipped with an encoder with large display, so that the valve to be operated can be easily reset to its initial position. The whole thing is neatly packed in a case, with battery and power arm, but without charger, since these are thus already provided in the company's buses.

After several designs and many field tests-including a destructive one-the first series of electric valve wrenches was produced and put into the field as the "0 series" with some mechanics. The feedback is very positive: heavy work with a lot of force is over. Fatigue and injury hazards are reduced, and use results in significant cost and time savings.