|
Hello learned colleagues, I'm hoping to pick your brains for a little advice. I am trying to put together a small vacuum system for basic experimentation/exploration/education with plasmas of various sorts. I have a line on a small molecular drag pump with some accessories, and am now looking for a suitable chamber. I just found this on eBay:
With its various flanges and such, it looks to be flexible enough for my very basic needs. I would, of course, try to talk the seller down a bit.
However, I am a neophyte when it comes to chambers, fittings, etc. I know just enough to get into trouble. I see what appears to be at least one conflat fitting, etc. What I'm looking for here is a basic "yes, that'll do" or "no, don't buy this". Like "you'll never find something to fit that flange", etc type of real-world advice.
I'd like to plumb some pumps into it, put in a couple of electrical feed-throughs, that sort of thing.
Opinions?
Thanks,
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
New Kensington, PA
|
Hello Dave, funny you mention this...? I finally got my cart (old Beckman ultracentrifuge over to TX from NM.? Yeah, it's still on the trailer, but I have to clean it off to haul back there at the mighty 4th to try and finish my move to San Antonio and sell the house (it's only been since Aug 2017 that I started moving).? Super heavy duty cart.? Even after I removed the reefer unit and drive motor assembly (bearing had failed and leaked oil all over), roughing pump, diff pump, control panel/top, top sliding door plate assembly, electronics, the thing still weighs over 400#.? I think I am going to try to block off the hole in the bottom of the chamber and reassemble it to use as a vacuum chamber.? The outer ring has a Hastings type TC gauge in it already.? Probably don't need the 1.5" thick explosion shield ring that sits inside that but until I need it for something else I think it will be just fine where it sits now.? I plan to reinstall the Welch Duo-Seal (1 of 3 I have) as the roughing pump or use the Edwards RV one I have, and then use a small turbo setup I picked up off ebay (if it works).? Have a couple of MKS Loadlock pressure sensors for the system, and a few KF25 valves.?
I bought (I think) a nice TC gauge with a bunch of tubes at auction from Bentley's in Albuquerque along with a ~30L dewar, about fifty 5C collets and around 50 slitting saws.? A friend picked them up for me and I plan to drive up there from Las Cruces week of the 4th to pick it all up.
Diff pump was assembled to the housing with a flange and o-ring with thumb screws which I will need to adapt to the ISO63 (?) flange on the turbo.? Was looking at a cross that is ISO/KF63 straight through and a couple of KF25 on the side.? But there is no window in the top plate, which I'd like to have but might interfere with being able to use the slide mechanism to open and close it (assuming I am able to reassemble what I took apart before).
I mostly want a system to pump down tubes for lasers, neon and maybe in some crazy time try my hand at vac tubes or nixies.? And eventually maybe a fusor.? Still need to test the newer mill, Bridgeport 2J2 but I now have a horizontal attachment for it.
What I've been advised is to go with KF type fittings using centering rings and o-rings instead of conflat, as they are reusable versus the conflat copper washers.
On Wed, Jun 15, 2022 at 11:11 PM Dave McGuire < mcguire@...> wrote:
? ?Hello learned colleagues, I'm hoping to pick your brains for a little
advice.? I am trying to put together a small vacuum system for basic
experimentation/exploration/education with plasmas of various sorts.? I
have a line on a small molecular drag pump with some accessories, and am
now looking for a suitable chamber.? I just found this on eBay:
? ?
? ?With its various flanges and such, it looks to be flexible enough for
my very basic needs.? I would, of course, try to talk the seller down a bit.
? ?However, I am a neophyte when it comes to chambers, fittings, etc.? I
know just enough to get into trouble.? I see what appears to be at least
one conflat fitting, etc.? What I'm looking for here is a basic "yes,
that'll do" or "no, don't buy this".? Like "you'll never find something
to fit that flange", etc type of real-world advice.
? ?I'd like to plumb some pumps into it, put in a couple of electrical
feed-throughs, that sort of thing.
? ?Opinions?
? ? ? ? ? ?Thanks,
? ? ? ? ? ?-Dave
--
Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
New Kensington, PA
|
Dave,
It looks ok except for that top most interface.? with only 4 bolts across what looks to be 6" dia I am not sure that is a "fitting" interface.? It may be expecting to be bolted down to a thick plate like the top of a cart that holds your vacuum system.??
I will look thru my collection of stuff for that flange in case you get that thing.??
Drew?
On Thu, Jun 16, 2022 at 12:11 AM Dave McGuire < mcguire@...> wrote:
? ?Hello learned colleagues, I'm hoping to pick your brains for a little
advice.? I am trying to put together a small vacuum system for basic
experimentation/exploration/education with plasmas of various sorts.? I
have a line on a small molecular drag pump with some accessories, and am
now looking for a suitable chamber.? I just found this on eBay:
? ?
? ?With its various flanges and such, it looks to be flexible enough for
my very basic needs.? I would, of course, try to talk the seller down a bit.
? ?However, I am a neophyte when it comes to chambers, fittings, etc.? I
know just enough to get into trouble.? I see what appears to be at least
one conflat fitting, etc.? What I'm looking for here is a basic "yes,
that'll do" or "no, don't buy this".? Like "you'll never find something
to fit that flange", etc type of real-world advice.
? ?I'd like to plumb some pumps into it, put in a couple of electrical
feed-throughs, that sort of thing.
? ?Opinions?
? ? ? ? ? ?Thanks,
? ? ? ? ? ?-Dave
--
Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
New Kensington, PA
|
Ah yes, thanks Drew, I see the difference in that flange. The second one I posted last night looks a bit simpler and has an 8" CF on each end. It's this one:
I would probably want to put a blank on one end and use that for the bottom, and a view port on the top, then plumb the 2.75" CF on the side down to the pumping system.
What do you think?
Thanks,
-Dave
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On 6/16/22 11:34, eosraptor1 wrote: It looks ok except for that top most interface.? with only 4 bolts across what looks to be 6" dia I am not sure that is a "fitting" interface.? It may be expecting to be bolted down to a thick plate like the top of a cart that holds your vacuum system.
I will look thru my collection of stuff for that flange in case you get that thing.
Drew
On Thu, Jun 16, 2022 at 12:11 AM Dave McGuire <mcguire@... <mailto:mcguire@...>> wrote:
? ?Hello learned colleagues, I'm hoping to pick your brains for a
little
advice.? I am trying to put together a small vacuum system for basic
experimentation/exploration/education with plasmas of various sorts.? I
have a line on a small molecular drag pump with some accessories,
and am
now looking for a suitable chamber.? I just found this on eBay:
<>
? ?With its various flanges and such, it looks to be flexible
enough for
my very basic needs.? I would, of course, try to talk the seller
down a bit.
? ?However, I am a neophyte when it comes to chambers, fittings,
etc.? I
know just enough to get into trouble.? I see what appears to be at
least
one conflat fitting, etc.? What I'm looking for here is a basic "yes,
that'll do" or "no, don't buy this".? Like "you'll never find something
to fit that flange", etc type of real-world advice.
? ?I'd like to plumb some pumps into it, put in a couple of electrical
feed-throughs, that sort of thing.
? ?Opinions?
? ? ? ? ? ?Thanks,
? ? ? ? ? ?-Dave
--
Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
New Kensington, PA
--
Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
New Kensington, PA
|
I think I like that one better.? you can always use a camera inside to see what is going on if you dont have a view port?handy.? I run 3 USB cameras in my warp drive test chamber.? 8" UHV plates will be pricy?even used on EBAY.? Let me look to see if I can spare one for you.
I would mount the turbo pump vertically?on top and you can rough pump the chamber right thru the turbo and when it is low enough use the same roughing pump as the backing pump for the turbo.??
On Thu, Jun 16, 2022 at 12:53 PM Dave McGuire < mcguire@...> wrote:
? ?Ah yes, thanks Drew, I see the difference in that flange.? The second
one I posted last night looks a bit simpler and has an 8" CF on each
end.? It's this one:
? ?
? ?I would probably want to put a blank on one end and use that for the
bottom, and a view port on the top, then plumb the 2.75" CF on the side
down to the pumping system.
? ?What do you think?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? Thanks,
? ? ? ? ? ? ? -Dave
On 6/16/22 11:34, eosraptor1 wrote:
> It looks ok except for that top most interface.? with only 4 bolts
> across what looks to be 6" dia I am not sure that is a "fitting"
> interface.? It may be expecting to be bolted down to a thick plate like
> the top of a cart that holds your vacuum system.
>
> I will look thru my collection of stuff for that flange in case you get
> that thing.
>
> Drew
>
>
>
> On Thu, Jun 16, 2022 at 12:11 AM Dave McGuire <mcguire@...
> <mailto:mcguire@...>> wrote:
>
>
>? ? ? ? ?Hello learned colleagues, I'm hoping to pick your brains for a
>? ? ?little
>? ? ?advice.? I am trying to put together a small vacuum system for basic
>? ? ?experimentation/exploration/education with plasmas of various sorts.? I
>? ? ?have a line on a small molecular drag pump with some accessories,
>? ? ?and am
>? ? ?now looking for a suitable chamber.? I just found this on eBay:
>
>? ? ?
>? ? ?<>
>
>? ? ? ? ?With its various flanges and such, it looks to be flexible
>? ? ?enough for
>? ? ?my very basic needs.? I would, of course, try to talk the seller
>? ? ?down a bit.
>
>? ? ? ? ?However, I am a neophyte when it comes to chambers, fittings,
>? ? ?etc.? I
>? ? ?know just enough to get into trouble.? I see what appears to be at
>? ? ?least
>? ? ?one conflat fitting, etc.? What I'm looking for here is a basic "yes,
>? ? ?that'll do" or "no, don't buy this".? Like "you'll never find something
>? ? ?to fit that flange", etc type of real-world advice.
>
>? ? ? ? ?I'd like to plumb some pumps into it, put in a couple of electrical
>? ? ?feed-throughs, that sort of thing.
>
>? ? ? ? ?Opinions?
>
>? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?Thanks,
>? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?-Dave
>
>? ? ?--
>? ? ?Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
>? ? ?New Kensington, PA
>
>
>
>
>
>
--
Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
New Kensington, PA
|
On 6/16/22 11:18, Nick Andrews wrote: Hello Dave, funny you mention this...? I finally got my cart (old Beckman ultracentrifuge over to TX from NM.? Yeah, it's still on the trailer, but I have to clean it off to haul back there at the mighty 4th to try and finish my move to San Antonio and sell the house (it's only been since Aug 2017 that I started moving). Ugh, moving sucks! Super heavy duty cart. Even after I removed the reefer unit and drive motor assembly (bearing had failed and leaked oil all over), roughing pump, diff pump, control panel/top, top sliding door plate assembly, electronics, the thing still weighs over 400#.? I think I am going to try to block off the hole in the bottom of the chamber and reassemble it to use as a vacuum chamber. The outer ring has a Hastings type TC gauge in it already.? Probably don't need the 1.5" thick explosion shield ring that sits inside that but until I need it for something else I think it will be just fine where it sits now.? I plan to reinstall the Welch Duo-Seal (1 of 3 I have) as the roughing pump or use the Edwards RV one I have, and then use a small turbo setup I picked up off ebay (if it works).? Have a couple of MKS Loadlock pressure sensors for the system, and a few KF25 valves. Very interesting; I don't know much about centrifuges. They're mostly used for medical stuff, which I don't get into. So these big ones have vacuum systems in them?? I wasn't aware of that. I bought (I think) a nice TC gauge with a bunch of tubes at auction from Bentley's in Albuquerque along with a ~30L dewar, about fifty 5C collets and around 50 slitting saws.? A friend picked them up for me and I plan to drive up there from Las Cruces week of the 4th to pick it all up. Nice! Take pics! Diff pump was assembled to the housing with a flange and o-ring with thumb screws which I will need to adapt to the ISO63 (?) flange on the turbo.? Was looking at a cross that is ISO/KF63 straight through and a couple of KF25 on the side.? But there is no window in the top plate, which I'd like to have but might interfere with being able to use the slide mechanism to open and close it (assuming I am able to reassemble what I took apart before). Have you seen the pricing on diffusion pump oil lately? Ugh. :-( I mostly want a system to pump down tubes for lasers, neon and maybe in some crazy time try my hand at vac tubes or nixies.? And eventually maybe a fusor.? Still need to test the newer mill, Bridgeport 2J2 but I now have a horizontal attachment for it. Sounds somewhat similar to what I want to do. What I've been advised is to go with KF type fittings using centering rings and o-rings instead of conflat, as they are reusable versus the conflat copper washers. The single-use washers do seem like a pain, but they're not THAT expensive if you aren't changing things around a lot. -Dave -- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
|
On 6/16/22 13:44, eosraptor1 wrote: I think I like that one better.? you can always use a camera inside to see what is going on if you dont have a view port?handy.? I run 3 USB cameras in my warp drive test chamber. That's a damn fine idea! 8" UHV plates will be pricy?even used on EBAY.? Let me look to see if I can spare one for you. Ok I'm definitely looking for those now; I got that other chamber. (the simpler one) If you can find them, let me know what you want for them. I'm gettin' excited over here! :-) -Dave -- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
|
I also acquired a Huntington Cryo Sorption pump really cheap.? Not sure how they work or if it even works.? Need to research it...
On Thu, Jun 16, 2022 at 7:15 PM Dave McGuire < mcguire@...> wrote: On 6/16/22 11:18, Nick Andrews wrote:
> Hello Dave, funny you mention this...? I finally got my cart (old
> Beckman ultracentrifuge over to TX from NM.? Yeah, it's still on the
> trailer, but I have to clean it off to haul back there at the mighty 4th
> to try and finish my move to San Antonio and sell the house (it's only
> been since Aug 2017 that I started moving).
? ?Ugh, moving sucks!
? I've long said I'd rather be shot than move.? Misery and woe.? We hates it forever!? This one is worse, with 11 years of accumulation, 8 of which was with ready access to a lot of construction demo and university auction winnings.? I moved at least five tons of structural steel here, lathe, milling machine, two dental xray machines, a powder diffraction xray, so, so much high voltage stuff, lasers, boxes and boxes and boxes of books and magazines, Geiger counters and radiation detection stuff.? Not quite like the end scene of Raiders, but I could easily solidly pack a 20' cube.
> Super heavy duty cart.?
> Even after I removed the reefer unit and drive motor assembly (bearing
> had failed and leaked oil all over), roughing pump, diff pump, control
> panel/top, top sliding door plate assembly, electronics, the thing still
> weighs over 400#.? I think I am going to try to block off the hole in
> the bottom of the chamber and reassemble it to use as a vacuum chamber.?
> The outer ring has a Hastings type TC gauge in it already.? Probably
> don't need the 1.5" thick explosion shield ring that sits inside that
> but until I need it for something else I think it will be just fine
> where it sits now.? I plan to reinstall the Welch Duo-Seal (1 of 3 I
> have) as the roughing pump or use the Edwards RV one I have, and then
> use a small turbo setup I picked up off ebay (if it works).? Have a
> couple of MKS Loadlock pressure sensors for the system, and a few KF25
> valves.
? ?Very interesting; I don't know much about centrifuges.? They're
mostly used for medical stuff, which I don't get into.? So these big
ones have vacuum systems in them??? I wasn't aware of that.
These type are used in lab work all over.? An ultracentrifuge can spin at over 100,000rpm and several people have died from rotor explosions at universities.? Part of why it has that massive steel ring, to contain the shrapnel.? There is a cooling coil around the white inner tub that the refrigeration unit circulated and cooled.? The vacuum is to remove air resistance and decrease heat buildup.? Pretty crazy, right?
?
> I bought (I think) a nice TC gauge with a bunch of tubes at auction from
> Bentley's in Albuquerque along with a ~30L dewar, about fifty 5C collets
> and around 50 slitting saws.? A friend picked them up for me and I plan
> to drive up there from Las Cruces week of the 4th to pick it all up.
? ?Nice!? Take pics!
I will, assuming he bid on the right lot for me!? It was cheap if not.? Hope the dewar is good, as I need it to transport LN2 to the house to cool my HPGE detector.
?
> Diff pump was assembled to the housing with a flange and o-ring with
> thumb screws which I will need to adapt to the ISO63 (?) flange on the
> turbo.? Was looking at a cross that is ISO/KF63 straight through and a
> couple of KF25 on the side.? But there is no window in the top plate,
> which I'd like to have but might interfere with being able to use the
> slide mechanism to open and close it (assuming I am able to reassemble
> what I took apart before).
? ?Have you seen the pricing on diffusion pump oil lately?? Ugh. :-(
No, and I probably don't want to!? Aiming to use the little turbo if it all works, but I do have 2 or 3 diff pumps.? I'd like to try building a LN2 generator at some point...
?
> I mostly want a system to pump down tubes for lasers, neon and maybe in
> some crazy time try my hand at vac tubes or nixies.? And eventually
> maybe a fusor.? Still need to test the newer mill, Bridgeport 2J2 but I
> now have a horizontal attachment for it.
? ?Sounds somewhat similar to what I want to do.
I'll at least have the equipment for it.? Whether I actually get there or not will remain to be seen.
?
> What I've been advised is to go with KF type fittings using centering
> rings and o-rings instead of conflat, as they are reusable versus the
> conflat copper washers.
? ?The single-use washers do seem like a pain, but they're not THAT
expensive if you aren't changing things around a lot.
Famous last words...
?
? ? ? ? ? ? -Dave
--
Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
New Kensington, PA
|
Nick,
?
The sorption pump exploits the ability of certain materials to capture and hold large volumes of gas when taken down to liquid nitrogen temperatures.? You hook it up to your system (depending on the size of the system, you may need more
than one ¡°pump!¡± and immerse it in the LN bath.? You ¡°empty¡± it again by allowing it to return to room temperature, venting the gas out another valve.
?
It¡¯s a roughing pump, believe it or not!
?
It has traditionally been used in environments where absolutely no hydrocarbon contamination can be tolerated.? I can¡¯t imagine it would make sense for any amateur-built system (LN is megaspensive, and you need lots of it)¡
?
-John
?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
From: [email protected] < [email protected]> On Behalf Of
Nick Andrews via groups.io
Sent: Friday, June 17, 2022 4:18 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [VacuumX] vacuum chamber advice
?
CAUTION EXTERNAL EMAIL: Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know
the content is safe.
?
I also acquired a Huntington Cryo Sorption pump really cheap.? Not sure how they work or if it even works.? Need to research it...
?
On Thu, Jun 16, 2022 at 7:15 PM Dave McGuire <mcguire@...> wrote:
On 6/16/22 11:18, Nick Andrews wrote:
> Hello Dave, funny you mention this...? I finally got my cart (old
> Beckman ultracentrifuge over to TX from NM.? Yeah, it's still on the
> trailer, but I have to clean it off to haul back there at the mighty 4th
> to try and finish my move to San Antonio and sell the house (it's only
> been since Aug 2017 that I started moving).
? ?Ugh, moving sucks!
?
I've long said I'd rather be shot than move.? Misery and woe.? We hates it forever!? This one is worse, with 11 years of accumulation, 8 of which was with ready access to a lot of construction demo and university auction winnings.? I moved
at least five tons of structural steel here, lathe, milling machine, two dental xray machines, a powder diffraction xray, so, so much high voltage stuff, lasers, boxes and boxes and boxes of books and magazines, Geiger counters and radiation detection stuff.?
Not quite like the end scene of Raiders, but I could easily solidly pack a 20' cube.
> Super heavy duty cart.?
> Even after I removed the reefer unit and drive motor assembly (bearing
> had failed and leaked oil all over), roughing pump, diff pump, control
> panel/top, top sliding door plate assembly, electronics, the thing still
> weighs over 400#.? I think I am going to try to block off the hole in
> the bottom of the chamber and reassemble it to use as a vacuum chamber.?
> The outer ring has a Hastings type TC gauge in it already.? Probably
> don't need the 1.5" thick explosion shield ring that sits inside that
> but until I need it for something else I think it will be just fine
> where it sits now.? I plan to reinstall the Welch Duo-Seal (1 of 3 I
> have) as the roughing pump or use the Edwards RV one I have, and then
> use a small turbo setup I picked up off ebay (if it works).? Have a
> couple of MKS Loadlock pressure sensors for the system, and a few KF25
> valves.
? ?Very interesting; I don't know much about centrifuges.? They're
mostly used for medical stuff, which I don't get into.? So these big
ones have vacuum systems in them??? I wasn't aware of that.
?
These type are used in lab work all over.? An ultracentrifuge can spin at over 100,000rpm and several people have died from rotor explosions at universities.? Part of why it has that massive steel ring, to contain the shrapnel.? There is
a cooling coil around the white inner tub that the refrigeration unit circulated and cooled.? The vacuum is to remove air resistance and decrease heat buildup.? Pretty crazy, right?
> I bought (I think) a nice TC gauge with a bunch of tubes at auction from
> Bentley's in Albuquerque along with a ~30L dewar, about fifty 5C collets
> and around 50 slitting saws.? A friend picked them up for me and I plan
> to drive up there from Las Cruces week of the 4th to pick it all up.
? ?Nice!? Take pics!
?
I will, assuming he bid on the right lot for me!? It was cheap if not.? Hope the dewar is good, as I need it to transport LN2 to the house to cool my HPGE detector.
> Diff pump was assembled to the housing with a flange and o-ring with
> thumb screws which I will need to adapt to the ISO63 (?) flange on the
> turbo.? Was looking at a cross that is ISO/KF63 straight through and a
> couple of KF25 on the side.? But there is no window in the top plate,
> which I'd like to have but might interfere with being able to use the
> slide mechanism to open and close it (assuming I am able to reassemble
> what I took apart before).
? ?Have you seen the pricing on diffusion pump oil lately?? Ugh. :-(
?
No, and I probably don't want to!? Aiming to use the little turbo if it all works, but I do have 2 or 3 diff pumps.? I'd like to try building a LN2 generator at some point...
> I mostly want a system to pump down tubes for lasers, neon and maybe in
> some crazy time try my hand at vac tubes or nixies.? And eventually
> maybe a fusor.? Still need to test the newer mill, Bridgeport 2J2 but I
> now have a horizontal attachment for it.
? ?Sounds somewhat similar to what I want to do.
?
I'll at least have the equipment for it.? Whether I actually get there or not will remain to be seen.
> What I've been advised is to go with KF type fittings using centering
> rings and o-rings instead of conflat, as they are reusable versus the
> conflat copper washers.
? ?The single-use washers do seem like a pain, but they're not THAT
expensive if you aren't changing things around a lot.
?
? ? ? ? ? ? -Dave
--
Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
New Kensington, PA
|
That's pretty much what I thought.? ?But it came with a Hastings tube and at least one high quality valve,? either of which is worth more than I paid for the whole thing.?
On Fri, Jun 17, 2022, 8:08 PM John Doran < johnd@...> wrote:
Nick,
?
The sorption pump exploits the ability of certain materials to capture and hold large volumes of gas when taken down to liquid nitrogen temperatures.? You hook it up to your system (depending on the size of the system, you may need more
than one ¡°pump!¡± and immerse it in the LN bath.? You ¡°empty¡± it again by allowing it to return to room temperature, venting the gas out another valve.
?
It¡¯s a roughing pump, believe it or not!
?
It has traditionally been used in environments where absolutely no hydrocarbon contamination can be tolerated.? I can¡¯t imagine it would make sense for any amateur-built system (LN is megaspensive, and you need lots of it)¡
?
-John
?
?
CAUTION EXTERNAL EMAIL: Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know
the content is safe.
?
I also acquired a Huntington Cryo Sorption pump really cheap.? Not sure how they work or if it even works.? Need to research it...
?
On Thu, Jun 16, 2022 at 7:15 PM Dave McGuire <mcguire@...> wrote:
On 6/16/22 11:18, Nick Andrews wrote:
> Hello Dave, funny you mention this...? I finally got my cart (old
> Beckman ultracentrifuge over to TX from NM.? Yeah, it's still on the
> trailer, but I have to clean it off to haul back there at the mighty 4th
> to try and finish my move to San Antonio and sell the house (it's only
> been since Aug 2017 that I started moving).
? ?Ugh, moving sucks!
?
I've long said I'd rather be shot than move.? Misery and woe.? We hates it forever!? This one is worse, with 11 years of accumulation, 8 of which was with ready access to a lot of construction demo and university auction winnings.? I moved
at least five tons of structural steel here, lathe, milling machine, two dental xray machines, a powder diffraction xray, so, so much high voltage stuff, lasers, boxes and boxes and boxes of books and magazines, Geiger counters and radiation detection stuff.?
Not quite like the end scene of Raiders, but I could easily solidly pack a 20' cube.
> Super heavy duty cart.?
> Even after I removed the reefer unit and drive motor assembly (bearing
> had failed and leaked oil all over), roughing pump, diff pump, control
> panel/top, top sliding door plate assembly, electronics, the thing still
> weighs over 400#.? I think I am going to try to block off the hole in
> the bottom of the chamber and reassemble it to use as a vacuum chamber.?
> The outer ring has a Hastings type TC gauge in it already.? Probably
> don't need the 1.5" thick explosion shield ring that sits inside that
> but until I need it for something else I think it will be just fine
> where it sits now.? I plan to reinstall the Welch Duo-Seal (1 of 3 I
> have) as the roughing pump or use the Edwards RV one I have, and then
> use a small turbo setup I picked up off ebay (if it works).? Have a
> couple of MKS Loadlock pressure sensors for the system, and a few KF25
> valves.
? ?Very interesting; I don't know much about centrifuges.? They're
mostly used for medical stuff, which I don't get into.? So these big
ones have vacuum systems in them??? I wasn't aware of that.
?
These type are used in lab work all over.? An ultracentrifuge can spin at over 100,000rpm and several people have died from rotor explosions at universities.? Part of why it has that massive steel ring, to contain the shrapnel.? There is
a cooling coil around the white inner tub that the refrigeration unit circulated and cooled.? The vacuum is to remove air resistance and decrease heat buildup.? Pretty crazy, right?
> I bought (I think) a nice TC gauge with a bunch of tubes at auction from
> Bentley's in Albuquerque along with a ~30L dewar, about fifty 5C collets
> and around 50 slitting saws.? A friend picked them up for me and I plan
> to drive up there from Las Cruces week of the 4th to pick it all up.
? ?Nice!? Take pics!
?
I will, assuming he bid on the right lot for me!? It was cheap if not.? Hope the dewar is good, as I need it to transport LN2 to the house to cool my HPGE detector.
> Diff pump was assembled to the housing with a flange and o-ring with
> thumb screws which I will need to adapt to the ISO63 (?) flange on the
> turbo.? Was looking at a cross that is ISO/KF63 straight through and a
> couple of KF25 on the side.? But there is no window in the top plate,
> which I'd like to have but might interfere with being able to use the
> slide mechanism to open and close it (assuming I am able to reassemble
> what I took apart before).
? ?Have you seen the pricing on diffusion pump oil lately?? Ugh. :-(
?
No, and I probably don't want to!? Aiming to use the little turbo if it all works, but I do have 2 or 3 diff pumps.? I'd like to try building a LN2 generator at some point...
> I mostly want a system to pump down tubes for lasers, neon and maybe in
> some crazy time try my hand at vac tubes or nixies.? And eventually
> maybe a fusor.? Still need to test the newer mill, Bridgeport 2J2 but I
> now have a horizontal attachment for it.
? ?Sounds somewhat similar to what I want to do.
?
I'll at least have the equipment for it.? Whether I actually get there or not will remain to be seen.
> What I've been advised is to go with KF type fittings using centering
> rings and o-rings instead of conflat, as they are reusable versus the
> conflat copper washers.
? ?The single-use washers do seem like a pain, but they're not THAT
expensive if you aren't changing things around a lot.
?
? ? ? ? ? ? -Dave
--
Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
New Kensington, PA
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Dave McGuire
Nick Andrews