Does Foundry have a vacuum pump or vacuum chamber?
There is at least four vacuum pumps at the space. There is a vacuum pump in the foundry on the shelving, and there is a large vacuum pump attached to the vacuum forming machine. I also believe there is a venturi vacuum pump on loan from a member in the automotive area. Finally, as you are aware there is a member owned vacuum pump on loan to the space in the form of the freeze dryer unit.
Personally, I think science should obtain two vacuum pump as a long term goal as well; a good two stage mechanical pump and a diffusion pump for really high vacuums. These are generally useful tools. Frankly I would also like wood working to obtain a vacuum clamping/veneering press system as well for a long term goal.
Some information that may be of interest; An Introduction to Vacuum Technology for the Amateur Scientist
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I believe that the chamber requires training or assistance. I would talk to John Kuhlenschmidt before attempting to use it.
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Good point Bryan, even for those items that don’t require training it is probably a good idea to seek assistance the first time one wants to use it.
Personally, I would wonder if any particular use might cause problems with its intended use. For instance, the vacuum forming machine appears to see only light use, and its pump is by far the most powerful of those available. But I could forsee some uses causing problems with its original intended function.
I would expect that the vacuum equipment on the vacuum former would be dedicated to just that machine. I don’t know how the vacuum former is designed, though, or how accessible its vacuum system might be.
Well that is a good point, though I would expect that most any vacuum pump would be ‘dedicated’ to the purpose it was obtained for. How available it might be for other purposes is a good question for those responsible for it. Clearly John is the person to comment on the Foundry one, but I don’t know which committee is responsible for the vacuum forming machine.
Can’t we just buy a big vacuum machine and plumb the whole shop for vacuum, like we have with compressed air?
EDITED FOR POSTERITY
I meant this as a joke.
See continuation here
And leave this thread for the actual topic as posted.
Thank you.
I don’t know if your serious or not, but I will assume so for my answer (from my point of view).
Unlike compressed air, the needs for vacuums require very different types of machines for the most part. And maintaining a good high vacuum for a wide area would be difficult.
BTW, I forgot one of the vacuums we have at the space, which is the huge one for the CNC router table…
Yes, and I’ve suggested doing that, several months ago. A downside is that someone could send something up the pipe that wouldn’t be good for the system, but that’s what filters and catches are for.
Such a system, though, would be limited to low vacuum. I doubt it could reach medium vacuum, much less high or ultra-vacuum.
Hospitals do it.
Yes, the CNC router has a vacuum machine in it, but you couldn’t use it for anything else, like, say, evacuating a bell jar.
Hospitals have a very specific range of needs for a vacuum. The space is much more generalized, which is what I was trying to convey by showing the current vacuum pumps that we already have.
You do get my point when discussing that the general system likely can’t reach a medium, much less a high vacuum. As I said, I think science should add a mechanical vacuum pump to its goal list as well as ultimately a diffusion vacuum if the needs arrise.
For short term; contacting John (Foundry) and whichever committee chair is in charge of the vacuum former and determining if their equipment can be used would be a good idea.
I don’t have immediate need of a vacuum pump; I am trying to gauge how much demand or interest versus supply for vacuum systems might exist. I’d like to discuss vacuum systems on my other thread on that topic.
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I had sent a note to Alex on May31
“look like there is an interest for the Makerspace to have their own Vacuum Chamber in the Wood Shop/Arts. See the link
(http://www.smooth-on.com/Tools-Supplies-and/c1_1223/index.html?catdepth=1)
There has been a vacuum chamber stored in the Foundry area, but that was built by John K. and Nathan Owen, but mainly built and paid for by Nathan Owen for his telescope project.”
As I mention to Alex I am going to a Sparkfun AVC this weekend and after that I was going look into the Makerspace getting a Vacuum Chamber(size?) that could be used with the Vacuum Table pump by use of a quick connecter/coupling.
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Thanks, John.
I can’t imagine what use a vacuum chamber would serve for a telescope… and the price! $553.75!
I believe that the vacuum chamber is used in the depositing of the ‘silver’ metal on the telescope mirror.
I didn’t know that was done under vacuum, though I guess that would make sense, if one didn’t mind spending the money on the equipment. I don’t believe it is necessary for ordinary home-built telescopes, though.
[Stelefane ATM coatings][1]
“Today, most amateur mirrors are coated in a high vacuum chamber where aluminum is evaporated,
then as it flies about the chamber unimpeded by air molecules it evenly coats the mirror (and everything else in the chamber, including the viewport).”
Also, the original Amateur Scientist column in Scientific American (started in the 20’s) was almost exclusively concerned with the construction of amateur telescopes. Some of their earliest articles (and even later ones into the sixties) described techniques to silver mirrors that involved both vacuums and high voltages (two great things to play with).
From what I remember about the earlier techniques, they involved the use of mercury and silver to create an amalgum that was applied to the glass surface. A technique that is certainly not recommended anymore.
[1]: Stellafane ATM Coatings