Legacy status of SMC SY solenoid

[Nate Laverdure]

The most popular solenoid valve in FRC, the SMC SY3000-series, is now being marketed and sold as a legacy product. These valves and accessories which we have been using for years are still available for sale through SMC and 3rd parties, but it unclear if they are still being manufactured.

In 2014 SMC announced the replacement, unfortunately called the "New SY Series." The marketing materials for the replacement model describes a number of upgrades over the legacy valve:

SMC has improved product performance and reliability with the redesigned SY series valve. The SY3000 and SY5000 have the same valve width as their predecessors, but the flow has been increased by up to 80%, allowing the valve size to be reduced. A built-in strainer in the pilot valve prevents trouble caused by foreign matter... Side, top and bottom port/pipe directions are available to allow flexible installation. The SY is available in body ported or base mounted styles, and can be used individually or manifold mounted.

For FRC purposes, by far the most interesting changes are:

Manifold backwards incompatibility
The connectors on the New SY valves are intended to be plugged into a distribution manifold that contains internal wiring. From the vendor documentation it appears that the valves will NOT be compatible with the old SY manifolds, like the ones sold by VexPro.

Exotic new configurations
The New SY valves are available in more configurations than the old valves, including (in italics) exotic ones that were not available in the old product. Because these special configurations include internal check valves, they allow new regimes of valve behavior that we were not able to accomplish legally using the old SY valves.

• 2-position single
• 2-position double
• 3-position closed center
• 3-position exhaust center
• 3-position pressure center
  
• 4-position dual 3-port valve
• 2-position with back pressure check valve
• 4-position dual 3-port valve with back pressure check valve

New attachments that change the valve behavior during failure modes and other off-normal conditions

• The "residual pressure relief valve" is an attachment that relieves the pressure from both sides of the cylinder when supply pressure is removed.

• The "double check spacer assembly" is paired with the with residual pressure release valve to allow you to hold a cylinder in an intermediate position.

Open questions:

• How long will the old SY valves and accessories continue to be available?
• Are the upgrades in the New SY valves good for FRC?
• When will we begin to see New SY valves on FRC bots?
• How will teams and vendors (especially VexPro) deal with coming availability issues and incompatibility between new and legacy parts?