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Metal Improvement Company manufactures reed valves for
use in compressors, pump applications and combustion
engines. Reed valves are precision stampings that operate
in demanding environments. Tight manufacturing tolerances
enable us to achieve optimal flatness for offering resistance
to flexing fatigue and high contact loads.
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PERFORMANCE
We have developed the Stress-LiteTM process
to extend the life of reed valves by as much as
ten times. Stress-Lite finishing techniques provide
specific surface finish and edge rounding requirements
for durability. For highly demanding reed valve
applications, we can combine Stress-Lite with shot
peening. Following are reed valve performance results
using Stress-Lite with and without shot peening:
- As stamped - 47,000 cycles
- With Stress-Lite - 62,000 cycles
- With Stress-Lite and shot peening - 194,000
cycles
Our reed valve and ring valves typically perform
well beyond design requirements.
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 PRECISION
We start with the best tooling, designed to the
closest tolerances between punch and die to yield
a perfect edge. We then select the very best Swedish
high carbon and stainless steels, manufactured exclusively
for this industry to high tolerances of thickness,
flatness and hardness. We blank these steels in
the hardened condition (48-52 HRc), holding tolerances
within tenths. |
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 PROTOTYPING
Metal Improvement Company's early participation
at the design level for reed valves enables us
to suggest alternatives for increasing efficiency
and facilitating manufacturing, not only of the
valve but also the compressor. We manufacture
the majority of all our prototype reed valves
and stops using Stress-Lite finishing and shot
peening if required. These processes will yield
reed valves that are virtually identical in dimension
and performance to production level reed valves.
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To
locate the MIC Reed Valve Manufacturing Facility,
click here |
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