Festo recently supplied components to Stopak for the development of an airbag inflation tool. Stopak, a specialist in the design of cargo securing methods, developed the Jumbo Inflator to inflate dunnage bags used to fill the voids between cargo during transportation.

The function of dunnage bags is to protect valuable break bulk cargo and merchandise during transportation, either by ship, rail or road. However, the bags can easily be under or over inflated, causing damage to the cargo.

Stopak developed the patented inflation tool to overcome these shortcomings. The resulting tool is the first of its kind on the market. It is capable of inflating a dunnage bag automatically, at a high speed, to the exact pressure required. The desired pressure is programmed into the device and inflation occurs with a flick of a button. The inflator is twice as fast as other devices on the market and, as a result of the programmed setpoint, it will never over or under inflate a bag.

The inflator makes use of a venturi system that gives the device the ability to blow a large volume of air into a bag in a short period of time. The inflator makes use of a Festo SDE3 pressure sensor that monitors and controls the pressure inside the bag. The sensor is also the basis of the inflation tool’s intelligence. Through the programmed setpoint, the sensor ensures that the tool automatically shuts off when the desired bag pressure has been reached.

The inflator is shut off with the help of a Festo CPE18 solenoid valve that is also built into the inflator to control the main air supply. The CPE18 is ideal for this type of application as it is compact and offers low power consumption with high flow rates and excellent performance.

The inflator, conceptualised by Stopak and designed by product development consultancy Dot Dot Dot Ex Why Zed Design (aka ...XYZ), has received a design excellence award from the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS).

For more information contact, Joanne Dexter, Festo, +27 (0)11 971 5560, joanne_dexter@festo.com, www.festo.com