Products used in this application:
In food processing a pneumatic knife can be employed to cut or slice product during manufacturing. It is imperative that repeatable knife force control is available for consistent product.
In this sketch, sausage is being sliced with a knife prior to final packaging and inspection. A QB3 is controlling pressure to a cylinder to control the amount of force the knife needs to cut the sausage. The signal to the QB3 is calibrated so that force is highest at the middle of the sausage and then the signal ramps down near the end of the cut. A directional valve is used for reversing the direction of the knife.
The high forward and reverse flow of the QB3 makes it a perfect pressure controller for this application because it can react quickly to fill/exhaust the cylinder when commanded.