What is the use of a vacuum pump?

What is the use of a vacuum pump?

A vacuum pump is really nothing more than a device that pumps air or water out of a sealed container to make a vacuum. It is nothing new and the very first vacuum pump made its way into the world in 1650. However, it has only been within the last few decades that we’ve witnessed how this device can be used. So, what are the different uses of vacuum pumps?

There are many industrial uses. The most common perhaps is the electric lamp. Yes, electric lamps use a vacuum pump to take gas out from the bulb enabling it to light. Aside from this, vacuum pumps are also used in the processing of semiconductors. But this is not the end of the story. In aircrafts, the gyroscopes of some flight instruments are powered by a vacuum source of power in case there is an electrical failure.

There are many types of vacuum pumps just as there are many uses for them. While classification is a complicated process, it is possible to narrow them to two broad categories. The first type is the transfer pump and the second is the entrapment pump. Entrapment pumps trap molecules within a confined space. Some examples are cryopump and the ion pump. The former traps liquified gas molecules while the latter traps ionized gas.

On the other hand, a transfer pump is also known as a kinetic pump. It uses momentum to, for example, transfer gas from the vacuum to the exhaust, as in the case of a turbomolecular pump.

Vacuum pumps can also be classified as either mechanical or compressed-air. Working off the Bernoulli principle, a compressed-air pump relies on the differences in pressure to create a vacuum. Meanwhile, the mechanical vacuum pump has an electrical motor as a power source, although it can also use an internal combustion engine, drawing air from a closed volume and releasing it to the atmosphere.

Probably the most popular mechanical vacuum pump is the rotating-vane, which has individual rotors around a shaft that spin at high velocities. With this, the air is trapped and taken through the intake port, leaving a vacuum behind it.

As you can see from above, the simple vacuum pump has many different uses across different industries. It is basically a general type of device that only has one function, however, it can be customized and added to in order to fulfill the needs of a particular industry.

Vacuum pumps are widely available and can be found for sale online. You can even find one on eBay or search online to find vacuum pumps for sale. A simple vacuum five-gallon degassing chamber is being sold for $175. Still, an air compressor is being sold for $30. And there is a two-stage pump that is being sold for $500. Again, the different pumps have their different uses, hence their differences in price.

If there is a particular pump you need, make sure to check out the different online retailers. There are many items for sale.