A vacuum is a space with low pressure where all matter has been removed that could possibly affect the testing or manufacturing process. Using a vacuum pump, industries produce a vacuum to test their products for leaks, endurance, and stability. Much like environmental chambers, vacuum chambers provide valuable data and insight into a product’s capability such that adjustments can be made to improve the quality of the product.
Testing chambers have been a major step forward for industry. They let a company know the parameters and limits of their products, information that is passed on to users and customers.
INDUSTRIES THAT USE VACUUM CHAMBERS
AEROSPACE:
The aerospace industry makes the greatest use of vacuum chambers due to the nature of the environments their products have to endure. Every aspect and part of a product for aerospace has to be tested and retested to ensure safety and performance. This includes bolts, panels, switches, electrical components, fibrous materials, seat cushions, and latches and door handles.
Agencies that oversee the manufacturing of materials for use in spacecraft and airplanes have strict and stringent requirements regarding the quality of materials to be used. Vacuum chambers allow researchers to simulate adverse conditions and environments to determine the quality and limits of components.
CHEMICAL:
The technology of vacuum chambers is a necessary part of chemical production for processes such as distillation, polycondensation, degassing, and the production of polyurethane. The vacuum process for chemicals has to maintain a constant pressure to avoid damage to the final product, which would make it useless.
BIOPHARMACEUTICAL:
Used in the biopharmaceutical industry, vacuum chambers are used for drying, degassing, sterilizing, cooling, distilling and crystallizing medications. They are also used to preserve specimens for study in an uncontaminated environment as well as assisting in the creation of new drugs.
MANUFACTRUING:
One of the most damaging substances during manufacturing is moisture. By subjecting a product in production to a vacuum, moisture is removed as well as any micro sized gas bubbles. A further use of vacuum chambers is to apply protective films, coatings, and finishes.
Vacuum chambers are an essential tool for manufacturing. They supply data to ensure the safety of products and highlight any flaws a product may have. The types of tests include a determination of leaks or their resistance to environmental conditions that may contain a vacuum.
FOOD & BEVERAGE:
Cold storage is a critical part of food transport. Vacuum chambers assist in speeding up the cooling, freezing, and drying processes to protect a product’s cellular integrity, taste, color, and appearance.
One of the main concerns of the food industry is waste from spoilage or poor environmental control. Food products that have to be maintained at a particular temperature have to be teste4d to determine their limits to ensure quality. The food and beverage industry are closely regulated by a variety of agencies and organizations to ensure the safety of the public.
SOLAR ENERGY:
A key challenge for the production of photovoltaic (PV) is designing and operating linear transport systems through the substrates of multiple fabrication steps. The PV production process uses vacuum deposition chambers, a method of placing a layer of a substance, in the fabrication of solar absorber layers. In most cases, the process employs multiple chambers to move the substates from point to point.
In conclusion, vacuum chambers are designed to fit the needs of the industries they serve. The benefit of vacuum chambers is their ability to create environmental conditions with varying pressure, humidity, temperature, and radiation to assist industry in developing and perfecting their products.
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