The common 13 types of vacuum pump overviews, features, applications and usages, and the featured brands and manufacturers

There are different types of vacuum pumps in the market now, let’s learn the common 13 types of vacuum pump overviews, features, applications and usages, and the featured brands and manufacturers.

Radial vacuum pump

Radial blowers are designed for high delivery volumes. The volume flow can be precisely adapted to customer requirements using the frequency inverter integrated on the motor.

Radial blowers contain a very fast and contact less rotating impeller and are therefore wear and maintenance free.

Radial vacuum pump Features:

Life time greased bearings.

Quiet and vibration free.

Process safe and reliable.

Frequency control available.

Radial vacuum pump Brands: ATLAS COPCO  , BECKER, BUSCH, GARDNER DENVER and PFEIFFER.

Radial vacuum pump Application: Blowing & Injecting, Degassing, Evacuation, Extracting, Gas Recirculation, Pick & Place, Pneumatic Conveying.

Axial vacuum pump

An axial-flow pump, or AFP, is a common type of pump that essentially consists of a propeller (an axial impeller) in a pipe. The propeller can be driven directly by a sealed motor in the pipe or by electric motor or petrol/diesel engines mounted to the pipe from the outside or by a right-angle drive shaft that pierces the pipe.

Fluid particles, in course of their flow through the pump, do not change their radial locations since the change in radius at the entry (called 'suction') and the exit (called 'discharge') of the pump is very small. Hence the name "axial" pump.

Axial vacuum pump Features: Axial flow pumps have a motor-driven rotor that directs flow along a path parallel to the axis of the pump. The fluid thus travels in a relatively straight direction, from the inlet pipe through the pump to the outlet pipe. Axial flow pumps are most often used as compressors in turbo-jet engines.

Axial vacuum pump Applications: dewatering and irrigation applications or to circulate fluid in sewage digesters, power plants, and evaporators.

Axial vacuum pump Brands: ANDRITZ, Argal Pumps, Baker Hughes, Blackmer, Bombas Ideal, BORGER

Mixed vacuum pump

Mixed vacuum pump is also been called as Hybrid vacuum pump or Combination vacuum pump, which integrate a high performance rotary vane pump with a chemical-resistant diaphragm pump to create a low maintenance, longer-lasting pump. The diaphragm pump removes the condensable vapors in the rotary vane pump before they can contaminate the oil, thus extending the life of the oil and ultimately the life of the pump. Pump oil lasts up to 10 times longer than in conventional rotary vane pumps under virtually any condition. Long periods between oil changes reduce cost and down time.

Mixed vacuum pump Features:

High vacuum and low consumption of steam,

Water and energy due to the combination of systems.

Shorter start-up time of the system without the need for a start-up ejector.

Possibility of condensate drain in a condenser previously installed.

Mixed vacuum pump Applications:

Mixed vacuum pump Brands: Labconco, BETEM

Regenerative vacuum pump

The regenerative blower can be used as either a vacuum or a positive pressure machine. Gas is sucked in through the inlet, and with every rotation of the gas kinetic energy is added. This results in a further increase of pressure along the side channel. Centrifugal force is the impeller blades accelerate the gas outward into the channels and the pressure increases. The side channel then narrows at the rotator, sweeping the gas off the impeller blades and discharging it through the outlet silencer.

Regenerative vacuum pump Features: Wear-free operation.

Low operating and energy costs.

Extremely smooth operation.

Very low noise level thanks to acoustic engineering.

Resistant to dust and fluff.

Pulsation-free.

50/60 Hz voltage range motors.

Regenerative vacuum pump Applications: sewage aeration, vacuum lifting, vacuum packaging, pneumatic conveying, concrete aeration, pond aeration, vacuum tables, drying, dust/smoke removal, air sparging, and chip removal

Regenerative vacuum pump Brands: gardnerdenver,

Liquid ring vacuum pump

liquid ring vacuum pumps are rotating, non-pulsating, positive displacement pumps. Liquid ring vacuum pumps, also known as water ring vacuum pumps, contain a single moving part, the rotor. The rotor is located eccentrically within a cylindrical casing. Liquid is supplied to the pump and by centrifugal force, forms a liquid ring around the casing which results in the formation of compression chambers.

Liquid ring vacuum pump Features:

Liquid ring vacuum pump Applications:

Aircraft Industry, Automobile Industry, Brewing Industry, Chemical Industry: Vacuum on chemical reactors and other processes; vacuum de-aeration of caustic solutions; vacuum exhausting on resin kettles; vacuum filtration; the distillation of synthetic resins and fatty acids; de-aeration of solids and liquids, Concrete Industry, Dairy Products and Dairy Industry: Deodorization of milk under vacuum; flash cooling milk under vacuum; liquid ring compressors for agitation and aeration; vacuum for automatic milking machines

Gas Specialties, Petroleum Industry, vacuum cleaning and filling of barrels; vacuum filtration for dewaxing; Water Treatment Industry

Liquid ring vacuum pump Brands: DEKKER Vacuum Technologies, Inc. Vacuum Research Corporation. Pfeiffer Vacuum, Duniway Stockroom Corp, Edson International, New Bedford.

Gear vacuum pump

Vacuum gear pump, gear suction pump, A gear pump is a type of positive displacement (PD) pump.  It moves a fluid by repeatedly enclosing a fixed volume using interlocking cogs or gears, transferring it mechanically using a cyclic pumping action.  It delivers a smooth pulse-free flow proportional to the rotational speed of its gears.

Gear vacuum pump Features: Dual-stage gear pumps provide deep vacuum to 1 x 10–1 torr

Rotating gears do not mesh — very tolerant of vapor and provide smooth, low-maintenance operation

Use for distillation and removing high boiling point solvents

Exhaust oil recycler coalesces oil mist and puts it back into the pump to prevent build up of oil residue in filter

Gear design allows pump to operate continuously between 0.1 torr and at atmosphere, unlike a rotary vane pump

Gear vacuum pump Applications:

Gear vacuum pump Brands:

Rotary vane vacuum pump

A rotary vane vacuum pump in its simplest definition is a type of pump technology that enables the compression of air inside the pump chamber to create suction for the removal of air molecules from a vessel or area.

Rotary vane vacuum pump works on a positive-displacement pumping principle. The design consists of a rotor, which is mounted eccentrically inside a cylindrical housing or stator. Blades, mounted inside the rotor, move in and out due to centrifugal force following the internal surface of the housing. A more detailed description of the operating principle of an oil lubricated and a dry running rotary vane pump can be seen further in this article.

Rotary vane vacuum pump Features: High pumping capacity, small footprint

Inverter-driven motor allows speed and pressure adjustment, and reduced power consumption

High pressure stability in the 10-2 mbar pressure range

Available with both AVF gold and platinum oils

Rotary vane vacuum pump Applications: degassing, distillation drying, fractionation, vacuum filtration, and crystallization

Rotary vane vacuum pump Brands: BETEM

Roots vacuum pump

Roots vacuum pumps, vacuum boosters, or Roots Booster Pumps are dry vacuum pumps that are used together with backing pumps in a wide range of applications where large pumping speeds are required. Vacuum boosters operate completely contact-free and without sealing fluids such as oil or water in the working chamber, although with most models the two gearwheels of the synchromesh gearing and the bearings for the impeller shafts are lubricated with oil. Some roots vacuum / booster pumps are equipped with a by-pass valve

Roots vacuum pump Features:

Operating pressure range between atmospheres down to the low 10-2 range.

Impressively high pumping speed of between 25 and 200m3/hr.

Good performance when used to pump light gases.

Very low noise levels (even at high rotational speeds)

Virtually no vibrations.

Roots vacuum pump Applications:

manufacture of semiconductors and solar panels, as well as for coatings, other industrial applications and for scientific instruments and research

Roots vacuum pump Brands: Adixen, Leybold, Edwards, BETEM roots pumps

Busch Vacuum, Eurovacuum, Italvacuum

Piston vacuum pump

Piston type vacuum pump, Wobbling Piston Pump or Rocking Piston Pump, which is a very known and amazing concept utilized since the early days of the industrial revolution. The Wobbling piston is a simple design. The main components consist of a cylinder, a piston, and a crankshaft. This crankshaft is connected to a power source, which in majority of the cases, is an electric motor. The Piston is connected eccentrically to the crankshaft which converts rotation to liner motion. This enables the upwards and downwards movement of the piston.

Piston vacuum pump Features:

Piston vacuum pump Applications: aerospace, vacuum degassing, evacuation, metal drying, and vacuum impregnation, for laboratories, for medical applications, for the chemical industry, for gas, OEM, for fuel cells, for robots, air sampling

Piston vacuum pump Brands: BETEM rocking piston pump,

Plunger vacuum pump

The plunger pump is also known as a piston pump. As you can probably surmise, the plunger/piston pump gets its name from the way it creates the vacuum in the pump housing. A piston is connected to a rotating wheel that draws in backward through a cylinder, thus creating a vacuum. This vacuum creates a suction force that draws fluid into the pump.

As this happens, two check valves are switched. The intake check valve opens, allowing water in. The discharge checks valve closes, preventing backflow of liquid (or air if initiating pumping).

Plunger vacuum pump Features:

Plunger vacuum pump Applications: Cleaning, lawn care, pest controls for residential applications, disinfection, pest control, agriculture, pressure washers, misters and sprayers

Plunger vacuum pump Brands:

Dry screw vacuum pump

Inside dry screw vacuum pumps, two screw rotors rotate in opposite directions. The pumped medium is trapped between the cylinder and the screw chambers. There, it is compressed, and transported to the outlet. During this process, the screw rotors do not come in contact with each other or the cylinder.

Features and advantages:

Cost-effective, long uptime, energy-efficient

Long service intervals

Operationally reliable

Application-oriented

Quiet operation

Applications:

Atomic layer deposition, High-density plasma CVD, Sub-atmospheric CVD, Metal-organic CVD, Plasma-enhanced CVD, Low-pressure CVD, Rapid thermal processing, Load-lock application

Brands and manufactures:

Busch, MD-Kinney, BETEM, Gardnerdenver, Atlas Copco USA

Claw vacuum pump

Claw vacuum pumps and compressors feature two claw-shaped rotors. The rotors are mounted in a cylinder and move in opposite directions. The shape of these claw rotors extracts, compresses and expels the pumped medium.

The claw rotors do not come into contact with each other or the housing. The minimal clearance between the rotors and the chamber housing optimizes the internal seal. So, no lubricants or operating fluids are required in the compression chamber.

Claw vacuum pumps and compressors are driven by a directly flange-mounted motor. A synchronizing gearbox maintains precise rotor timing.

Features and advantages:

Compact footprint and quality construction

Non-contact design greatly reduces wear and replacement parts

Dry-running means no sealing or lubricating oil in the pumping chamber

Air cooled . . .  requires no water for operation

Consistently high pumping speeds

High volumetric efficiency

Performs better in high ambient temperatures

Minimal maintenance and long service life

No greasing of bearings is required

Reduced power requirements equals lower energy costs

Smart silencer design enables quiet operation

Available in a wide range of sizes for a variety of medical applications

Applications:

Woodworking, Plastic, Medical, Packaging, Food & Beverage, Central Vacuum Systems, Electronics.

Brands and Manufacturers:

Diaphragm vacuum pump

Diaphragm vacuum pumps are oscillation displacement pumps, which is the ideal vacuum technology for many applications in the laboratory and in industry. Important benefits include oil-free and whisper quiet operation, low maintenance requirements, and extended service life. To ensure the highest possible reliability and durability, the diaphragm technology and the materials used are engineered and selected to withstand demanding applications.

Diaphragm pumps operate fully oil-free and do not have any sliding components in the gas path. During normal operation, they are completely free of abrasion. Contamination of the vacuum process due to particle generation, which is often encountered in the case of scroll pumps, is largely avoided.

Diaphragm vacuum pump Features:

HANDLES A WIDE VARIETY OF FLUIDS WITH HIGH SOLIDS CONTENT

SELF PRIMING

ABILITY TO RUN DRY

EXPLOSION PROOF

PUMPING EFFICIENCY REMAINS CONSTANT

VARIABLE FLOW RATE AND DISCHARGE PRESSURE

CAN NOT OVERHEAT

NO MECHANICAL SEALS, COUPLINGS, OR MOTORS

Diaphragm vacuum pump Applications:

Filtration, fore vacuum generation for turbo molecular pumps

Diaphragm vacuum pump Brands: Welch, Labconco, BrandTech