September 23, 2026

Simplify Valve Automation, Improve Diagnostics, and Reduce Total Cost of Ownership with Type 8682 and Type 8683 Control Tops

As manufacturers continue to face skilled labor shortages, growing automation requirements, and pressure to reduce maintenance costs, standardized intelligent valve automation becomes increasingly valuable.

Modern sanitary processing facilities demand more from valve automation. Today's plants require intelligent diagnostics, standardized communications, simplified maintenance, and equipment that integrates easily into increasingly connected production environments.

That's why Bürkert is introducing the new Type 8682 and Type 8683 Control Tops at PACK EXPO International in Chicago in October. Designed as the next generation of the widely adopted Type 8681, these new control tops incorporate advanced electronics, expanded diagnostics, enhanced communication capabilities, and simplified maintenance while supporting a broader range of sanitary valve applications.

According to Jim Larsen, Regional Product Portfolio Manager for Bürkert, the development represents a natural evolution of one of the industry's most successful automation platforms.

"The Type 8681 has been a leading control top in the industry for roughly fifteen years," Larsen explains. "During that time, technology has advanced, customer expectations have changed, and some of the electronic components used in earlier designs are reaching end-of-life. The Type 8682 and Type 8683 allow us to incorporate today's technology while preparing customers for tomorrow's automation requirements."

Two Models Optimized for Different Applications

Although the two products share the same core architecture and user experience, they are designed to address different application requirements.

The Type 8682 is a compact control top intended for quarter-turn valves, including sanitary ball valves and butterfly valves, as well as traditional sanitary single seat valves. "Because these applications require only a single internal solenoid," Larsen notes, "the 8682 offers a streamlined design and a more economical solution for standard valve automation."

The Type 8683 extends these capabilities to virtually the entire sanitary valve portfolio. "In addition to quarter-turn and single-seat valves, it supports sanitary mix-proof valves through the inclusion of up to three integrated solenoids," he points out. That enables independent control of the multiple valve positions required for mix-proof operation, including full open, upper seat lift, and lower seat lift.

"The 8683 is a more universal control top solution," Larsen says. "It provides the flexibility required for the full range of sanitary valve types while maintaining the same operating philosophy across the platform."

Advanced Visual Diagnostics Improve Situational Awareness

One of the most noticeable differences between the new control tops and previous generations is the addition of a dual visual indication system.

An illuminated LED ring around the perimeter of the housing continuously displays valve position using configurable colors for open, closed, or intermediate states. A separate illuminated dome positioned at the center of the control top provides diagnostic information independent of valve position.

These visual indicators can be configured to communicate maintenance information including switching time, cycle counts, total operating life, voltage conditions, internal temperature, service notifications, and diagnostic alarms.

Rather than simply reporting whether a valve is open or closed, the system provides operators with valuable insight into valve performance and developing maintenance issues.

"For example, monitoring changes in valve switching time can reveal declining air pressure, mechanical wear, or developing actuator problems long before they result in unexpected downtime," Larsen explains, "If the amount of time required for the valve to shift begins changing over time, that's an early indication that something in the system is changing. It gives maintenance teams the opportunity to investigate before the problem becomes a production issue."

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IO-Link Integration Enables True Plug-and-Play Replacement

Both control tops have been designed with IO-Link as a primary communication platform. "While IO-Link continues to gain widespread adoption throughout industrial automation," he adds, "Bürkert has expanded its implementation well beyond basic communication. One of the platform's most valuable capabilities is automatic plug and play device replacement."

If a control top is damaged or reaches the end of its service life, maintenance personnel can replace it with a new unit directly from inventory without interrupting the production process. Once installed, the new control top automatically initiates Bürkert's Teach-In process and configures itself during the course of normal valve operation and without further human intervention.

"You simply replace the head, reconnect it, and the next PLC command starts the automatic setup process, which then runs to completion by capturing valve position during the normal course of plant operation," Larsen says. "There's no lengthy commissioning procedure and no need to take the valve out of service while configuring the replacement."

This plug-and-play functionality significantly reduces maintenance time while minimizing production interruptions.

One Automation Platform Across the Entire Facility

One of Bürkert's primary objectives with the new control tops is extending a common automation architecture across both utility systems and sanitary process equipment.

"Historically, many facilities have relied on multiple valve manufacturers, each using different control tops, programming methods, and communication protocols," Larsen continues. "As plants expand, that means that maintenance personnel must learn numerous control platforms while maintaining inventories of many different replacement components."

The Type 8682 and Type 8683 control tops help simplify this complexity. Through an extensive adapter program, the new control tops can be installed on most of the industry's leading third-party sanitary seat valves, butterfly valves, and mix-proof valves.

"What we're really creating is an automation bridge," he says. "Customers can now apply the same Bürkert control philosophy across utility valves and process valves, even when those valves come from different manufacturers."

The result is greater standardization throughout the facility. Maintenance technicians learn one operating philosophy instead of many, reducing training requirements while improving troubleshooting efficiency.

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Lower Inventory Requirements Reduce Total Cost of Ownership

Standardization also creates measurable economic benefits. Facilities that currently maintain replacement control tops for numerous valve manufacturers often carry substantial spare-parts inventories. By standardizing using Bürkert control technology, many of those inventories can be consolidated into only a handful of replacement models.

"Instead of stocking twenty or thirty different control tops, customers can significantly reduce the number of devices they need to keep on the shelf," Larsen stresses. "That lowers inventory costs while making maintenance much simpler."

Reducing spare-part inventory, simplifying technician training, shortening replacement time, and improving diagnostics all contribute to a lower total cost of ownership over the life of the equipment.

Integrated Cleaning Functions Simplify Automation

The new control tops also incorporate multiple cleaning routines directly into the onboard firmware. Rather than requiring the PLC to execute every cleaning step, the control tops include configurable cleaning modes that can be parameterized for specific applications.

Available routines include full open/full closed cleaning, stroke-based cleaning, and time-based pulsed cleaning for mix-proof valves and similar applications – all aimed at reducing water and energy consumption while increasing cleaning efficiency.

By executing these functions internally, the control tops reduce the number of PLC inputs and outputs required for valve operation. Because IO capacity directly affects automation system cost, minimizing required IO can reduce overall control system complexity while lowering installation costs.

Designed for the Next Generation of Process Automation

The Type 8682 and Type 8683 represent considerably more than updated electronics. "They combine intelligent diagnostics, advanced visual feedback, simplified maintenance, integrated cleaning functions, modern IO-Link communications, and broad valve compatibility into a common automation platform," Larsen says. "That supports the increasing demands of today's hygienic processing facilities."

"The goal is to make plants easier to maintain, easier to standardize, and easier to operate," Larsen concludes. "We're giving customers one consistent automation platform that works across much more of their facility while providing more information than they've ever had before."