Airtac M5HS Selector Mechanical Valve M5HS21006BG
Mechanically actuated · no coil, no pilot airThe AirTAC Airtac M5HS Selector Mechanical Valve M5HS21006BG is a genuine 5/2-way selector switch type control valve. A turn-and-stay selector. Manual restoration, so it holds the selected state. It is an external control, direct-acting valve - the spool is moved mechanically, so there is nothing to wire and no pilot line to plumb. Ports are PT1/8 with a 9.0 mm2 (Cv 0.50) effective area.
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Specifications
| Model | M5HS21006BG |
|---|---|
| Valve type | 5/2 way, external control, direct acting |
| Actuation | Selector switch type |
| Reset | Manual restoration - it holds the selected position |
| Body series | 200 Series, single control |
| Port size | PT1/8 |
| Effective area | 9.0 mm2 (Cv 0.50) |
| Button colour | Black |
| Fluid | Air, filtered by a 40 um element |
|---|---|
| Pressure range | 0 - 1.0 MPa (0 - 145 psi) |
| Proof pressure | 1.5 MPa (215 psi) |
| Temperature | -20 to +70 C |
| Body material | Aluminium alloy |
| Lubrication | Not required |
| Thread standard | G (BSPP parallel) |
| Spool stroke | 2.0-3.3 mm |
| Actuator stroke | 5.1-6.4 mm at the selector |
Sliding-column (spool) construction, so operating force is not affected by working pressure - there is no back-pressure effect. Lubrication is not required, but once the valve has been run on lubricated air it must stay on lubricated air; AirTAC suggests ISO VG32 or equivalent. The control set is engineering plastic and must be operated by hand only - never switch it by striking it with a tool. The exhaust outlet sits on top of the body, so a silencer fits directly.
About the M5HS21006BG
The M5HS21006BG is a 5/2-way external control, direct acting valve that is operated entirely by hand: you turn its black selector head and the valve switches. There is no coil, no pilot port and no solenoid anywhere in it, so it is not a 4V solenoid valve and not an air pilot valve either. It belongs to the M5 mechanical control family. Because the selector is a manual restoration actuator, the valve stays in whatever position you last set - twist it one way for one circuit state, twist it back when you want the other, and it holds without any continuing force on the head.
This version uses the 200 series single control body (210) with G parallel threads on 1/8 in ports and a black selector. The orifice gives an effective area of 9.0 mm2 (Cv 0.50). Inside, a sliding-column spool throws the valve, so the force needed to turn the selector is not affected by working pressure - there is no back-pressure effect, and changeover feels the same at 0.2 MPa as it does at 1.0 MPa. The exhaust outlet sits on top of the body, so a silencer screws straight on at the most convenient spot. The HS control set is engineering plastic and is strictly for hand operation: switching it by striking it with a tool is forbidden. Body mounting and panel mounting are both supported.
Typical applications
Auto / Manual mode selection on a packaging machine
Panel-mount the M5HS21006BG next to a cartoner's HMI as the mode selector: one position routes air to the auto-cycle pilot circuit, the other hands the clamp and seal cylinders to jog buttons. The twisted position holds all shift long, so an operator can see at a glance which mode the machine is in.
Isolating a welding jig clamp circuit for tool change
Fit the valve at the fixture on a spot-welding jig and twist it to the safe position before a die or clamp change. The clamps stay vented until a person deliberately turns the selector back - it will not creep or be reset by vibration, and the black head reads clearly against a painted panel.
Selecting which press tooling receives air on a turret press
On a CNC turret punch with two active tool stations, use the selector to route the 5/2 output to the clamp circuit of the loaded tool rather than the idle one. Because the spool is pressure-independent, the selection stays valid whether the system is idling at low pressure or running flat out.
How to choose
The real choice here is between the three holding actuators. HS gives you a selector you twist and it stays; Y gives you a lever that stays; PL gives you a push-button that latches and is released by twisting the button. Pick HS when an operator should be able to see the machine's mode from the head position itself and when a straight lever would snag sleeves or pass too close to guards. If the state only needs to persist while pressed, step to a spring-return head such as PF or PM instead.
On flow, this 210 body at 1/8 in already delivers 9.0 mm2 (Cv 0.50); the 110 body drops you to 8.0 mm2 (Cv 0.45), while the same 210 body in 1/4 in ports (08) rises to 12.0 mm2 (Cv 0.67) - size the port to the cylinder you are feeding. Mind the reversal stroke: AirTAC publishes a spool stroke of 2.0-3.3 mm and a selector actuator stroke of 5.1-6.4 mm for this valve, and forcing the head past those limits damages it. Turn until you feel the detent and stop there.
Frequently asked questions
It is a 5/2-way external control, direct acting, hand-operated selector valve. Ports are G1/8 parallel thread; orifice effective area is 9.0 mm2 (Cv 0.50). Working pressure is 0-1.0 MPa (0-145 psi) with a proof pressure of 1.5 MPa (215 psi), and the media temperature range is -20 to +70 C using air filtered by a 40 um element. The body is aluminium alloy, lubrication is not required (if lubricated air is used, keep to ISO VG32 or equivalent), and the selector is a manual restoration actuator that holds its position.
AirTAC publishes a reversal stroke for this valve: the spool travels 2.0-3.3 mm and the selector head travels 5.1-6.4 mm. Those are the designed limits - turning the head past them damages the internal control set, and the datasheet states this explicitly. Twist until you feel the positive stop of the detent and stop there; a firmly seated selector is fully switched, and extra force buys you nothing but a broken valve. If a head is ever damaged, matching control sets are available as spare parts.