Direction Control Valves

Direction control valves play a vital road in the working of a hydraulic system. These are used to control the direction of hydraulic oil in the hydraulic system. 

Valve selection depends on various aspects of the hydraulic system. Such as Flow Rate, Working Pressure, Type of positioner, Coil Voltage, Type of spool etc.

These are mainly categorized in 3 major categories.

1. Manual Operated
2. Solenoid Operated
3. Pilot Operated 

1. Manual Operated Direction Control Valves

These are used in places where manual operation is required to operate the spool of valve to shift direction of spool. These are of 2 types.

Hand Lever Operated

These use hand lever operated positioner to operate the spool. One can use a handle to operate the valve from its hands.

Benefits: 

• No use of electricity 
• Ease of Use.

Cam Operated

These valves use a mechanical pin, which when pushed shifts the spool and changes the direction of oil.

Benefits: 

• Can be used anywhere where automatic direction switching is required.

2. Solenoid Operated Direction Control Valves

These are the most commonly used in the hydraulic industry. The size of the valve is selected on the basis of the flow rate of the hydraulic system.

These valves are operated with the help of current which is supplied to the solenoid coils equipped on the valve. 

3. Pilot Operated Direction Control Valves

These are used in places where the shifting of spools can be done with the pilot signal with the help of hydraulic oil. These valves have fast response time and no electric signal is required to operate them. 

Size of Direction Control Valves

These Valves can be categorized in 4 sizes.

Spools of Direction Control Valves

These Spools can be used according to the requirement of hydraulic system.