ABOUT US
-
Vacuum Research Corporation (VRC)
was a pioneer in the high vacuum business when its first patent was issued in 1954. More patents followed, and the innovation is continuing at our headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Here are a few highlights of our last 60 years.
1953
Aluminum gate valve production began in northern California. Virtually every part was made by casting.
1954
Patented the first gate valve to provide 100% unobstructed flow and a rotary rather than sliding vacuum seal. No scuffing of the gate seal when opening or closing by using a 4 bar linkage. (Patent #2,850,260)
1960
Patented remote control of the rotary actuator gate valve with pneumatic cylinder. (Patent #3,141,647)
1962
We improved conductance even more with the oversized port design. (Patent #3,216,694)
1963
Patented the easy maintenance port and bonnet style gate valve creating the "Complete Rebuild in 5 Minutes" gate valve. (Patent #3,262,672)
1987
Valve manufacturing operations moved to Pittsburgh, PA.
1988
Vacuum gauge production begins in Newport News, VA.
1992
Introduced wide range manometer with 316L stainless steel diaphragm and a range of 10 -3 Torr to 2 atmospheres
1993
Began selling Rotary Vane Vacuum Pumps.
1995
Eliminated caste SP valve bodies and replaced them with porosity free extruded Aluminum bodies.
1998
Introduced Throttle Valves with ports up to 24 inch (60cm) that are controllable from any PLC with 4 to 20 mA or 0 to 10 VDC .
2002
Introduced electric motor operation of gate valves with ports up to 24 inch (ISO-600).
2006
All VRC products comply with RoHS Directives.
2007
Introduced our low cost stainless steel Diaphragm Manometer with a range of 50 mTorr to 1000 Torr and CE Mark.
2008
Began production of Water Cooled Gate Valves
2008
Introduced the 10-5 Torr to 1500 Torr Super Wide Range Diaphragm Manometer.
2009
An article appearing in Vacuum Technology & Coating acknowledges the superior aluminum welding capabilities of Vacuum Research Corporation.
2009
Began production of Water Jacketed Angle Valves
Today
Vacuum Research continues as a leader in the vacuum component industry. From Aluminum Gate Valves to Rotary Vane Vacuum Pumps, VRC offers a standard of quality and service that continues to evolve with every technology solution.
VACUUM VALVES
-
-
Stainless & Aluminum Vacuum Valves
Round port and rectangular port valves in aluminum or stainless steel. Gate and angle styles with port sizes from KF-16 to 900 mm; 1 inch to 36 inch. ANSI, ISO, JIS, or Conflat® flanges. Manual, pneumatic and motorized actuators. 250,000 cycles standard. Million cycle available.
Valves for a Variety of Applications
Vacuum Research valves are in use worldwide in semiconductor manufacturing, physics research, chemical purification, and vacuum equipment manufacturing Our valves are integral components in a variety of systems, including ion implanters, accelerators, cyclotrons, electron beam welders, vacuum furnaces mass spectrometers, space simulators, and optical coaters.
Fail Safe
All Vacuum Research Valves can be installed for fast close on power failure and air operated valves can be manually positioned without air or electricity.
No Leaks
All Vacuum Research valves have total leak rates of less than 2 X 10-9 std cc/sec. By total leak we mean that each completed valve is tested in a Helium filled bag.
Responsive Service and Support
Our salespeople, engineers and technicians are available at our factory Monday through Friday, most Saturdays and sometimes even on Sunday for consultation, equipment specifying or parts ordering. Because of our unique design, most problems can be fixed without removing the valve body from piping. If you have a need to return a valve to Vacuum Research we will repair, refurbish at our factory in Pittsburgh, PA and return it, all you need to do is call for an RGA number and send us your problem. . . we’ll take care of the repairs and testing for the price of the parts and a nominal labor charge.
ALUMINUM GATE VALVES WITH CONFLAT® FLANGES
-
-
Aluminum Conflat® Flanges
The VRC Aluminum Conflat® Flanges use a tempered 6061 aluminum knife edge and dead soft aluminum gaskets to give a leak tight seal for hundreds of closures.
Less Outgassing Than Stainless Steel
Up to 2 orders of magnitude less outgassing from aluminum compared to stainless steel. A bibliography of 70 peer reviewed papers about outgassing compiled by M. Wong at Fermi Labs can be found at:http://home.fnal.gov/~mlwong/outgas_rev.htm
Mate Directly to Stainless Steel Conflat® Flanges
The bolt circle, number of holes, threads, flange diameter, etc. are the same as stainless steel flanges, and mate directly to stainless steel flanges using aluminum gaskets.
Metal Bonnet Seals
Our standard bonnet & hub seal is Viton® but metal seals are available. Kalrez® is also optional.
Rotatable Flanges
Rotatable flanges are available on one or both sides of all valve sizes. Our rotatable flanges have through holes. Our fixed flanges have tapped holes.
No Hydrogen Outgassing
Aluminum valves and flanges are not saturated with hydrogen as stainless steel is and therefore do not add hard to pump H2 background to your system.
Fast Pumpdown
VRC aluminum valve bodies are not cast. The internal surfaces are smooth extruded or machined aluminum and pump down at speeds comparable to stainless steel.
VACUUM GAUGES
-
-
High Vacuum Gauges and Controllers
Vacuum Research manufactures Pirani, thermocouple, diaphragm, and convection high vacuum instruments from 10-5 Torr to 1500 Torr, 10-3 to 2000 mbar, 10-3 to 105 Pa. These compact vacuum measurement and control instruments offer the precision and high resolution of digital electronics at the same price as analog instruments. Indicators feature large easy-to-read green LED displays. Controllers operate two control relays with set point values adjustable from the front panel and displayed on the meter. Push-to-set switches simplify display of set point pressures.
Variety of Styles
Vacuum Reseach offers most standard instruments in either 1/4 DIN or 2.75 inch diameter enclosures. The 2.75 inch diameter enclosure fits the same panel cut-out as Hastings, Varian, Televac and other analog meters. Mounting hardware is included. Additionally we offer transportable models, instruments with large character or bar graph displays, hand held gauges, rack mountable mult-channel instruments, dual range, and integral sensor models. If your needs are unique -- call us, we may already have some ideas on the style that best fits your application. If we don’t now -- we will after we talk. Many of our instrument models evolved from custom designs to meet the needs of our customers.
Torr, Pascal, mbar, Microns
All of our vacuum instruments can be provided with displays and analog outputs reading directly in Pascal, mbar, Microns, or Torr. It is easy to specify calibration. For example, to order a gauge calibrated in Pascal simply add the suffix “Pascal” to any of our gauge part numbers. There’s no extra cost and all specifications other than the unit of measure are the same. The transducers and gauge tubes used with the different calibrations are identical and do not require any suffix.
Possibly the World’s Best Gauge Tube
Vacuum Research’s gauge tubes are matched and can be replaced without recalibration. They have been tested to 1200 psi and can withstand working pressures to 300 psi. Internal volume of our standard tube is only 0.78cc. Tubes are available with any flange style: NW, NPT, Conflat, VCR. Our tubes feature all stainless steel stem, cup, and optional stainless steel pins -- no plastic! Also available are high temperature and high pressure tubes as well as a variety of baffles, traps, and accessories to protect your tubes.
2 Year Warranty Parts and Labor! On All Vacuum Instruments
The Vacuum Research vacuum instruments include a 2 year warranty that covers all parts and labor FOB Pittsburgh, PA USA. Vacuum Research gauge tubes and sensors come with a lifetime warranty against leaks. These warranties do not apply to instruments, sensors, or gauge tubes that have been subjected to misuse or abuse. Filament or diaphragm failure is not covered by our warranty.
NW (KF, QF) CLAMPS, CENTERING RINGS & COMPONENTS
-
-
KF (QF,NW) Flanges
NW flanges are a sexless design made from 304L or 316L stainless, aluminum, or brass. The seal is a rubber/ elastomeric o-ring mounted in a centering ring, which aligns the flanges and holds the o-ring in position.
Each flange has a chamfered back-surface and is mated by a circumferential clamp tightened by wing-nut, thumbscrew, bolt, or over-center lever.
NW flanges are limited (by the o-rings properties) to applications with temperatures between ~0° C and 120180° C, and pressure from atmosphere to ~10-8 Torr or mbar.
The flange is sized by the largest nominal I.D. (in, mm) tube that can be welded to it.
Standards sizes are: NW10, NW16, NW25, NW40, and NW50. Although these sizes are used in North America, the true nominal bore is often that of standard inch dimensioned tubes. Despite dimensional unit differences, KF flanges made by reputable manufacturers in any country will almost certainly mate.
VANE PUMPS
-
-
Two Stage Rotary Vane Vacuum Pumps
These rugged two-stage pumps include all the features needed -- long life with minimal maintenance. A built-in anti-suckback valve isolates the pump from the process during power interruptions, and keeps oil out of your system. Gas ballast valves are incorporated for pumping water and other vapors that normally compress to saturation during the pumping process and contaminate the oil. These well ventilated, cool running pumps minimize oil backstreaming and thermal degradation, resulting in a lower cost of operation. The positive oil feed system affords optimal pump lubrication, allowing greater tolerance for oil level changes and the use of a variety of fluids to satisfy diverse applications. The design of the pump is well known, and the pumps can be maintained by pump repair organizations around the world.
$1800. 1.8 cfm 50 liters/minute 3 m3/hour View PDF $1900. 3.5 cfm 100 liters/minute 6 m3/hour View PDF $900. 5 cfm 140 liters/minute 8.5 m3/hour View PDF $1980. 7 cfm 200 liters/minute 12m3/hour View PDF $2700. 14 cfm 400 liters/minute 24m3/hour View PDF $4000. 21 cfm 600 liters/minute 36m3/hour View PDF $5450. 28 cfm 800 liters/minute 48m3/hour View PDF $7220. 35 cfm 1000 liters/minute 60m3/hour View PDF $7960. 53 cfm 1500 liters/minute 90m3/hour View PDF $8760. 64 cfm 1800 liters/minute 108m3/hour View PDF
