Vacuum Pump Split Housing for Adaptable Receiver Connections
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional vacuum pump assemblies are complex, space-consuming, and difficult to integrate into customer-specific setups, often requiring different diameters and a compact design while ensuring robustness, ease of manufacture, maintenance, and economy.
Innovation Solution
A vacuum pump with a multi-part pump housing design, featuring a separate flange section and housing section, allowing for easy assembly, disassembly, and adaptation to different receiver connections, while maintaining compactness and stability through complementary coupling surfaces and secure fastening methods.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the pump housing is designed as a single integrated piece, then manufacturing simplicity and structural robustness are improved, but adaptability to different receiver connections and ease of maintenance are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The pump housing is divided into two separate components: a housing section and a flange section. The housing section contains the pump active components and is made of aluminum for lightweight construction, while the flange section is made of stainless steel for robustness and corrosion resistance. This segmentation allows the flange section to be easily replaced or adapted to different receiver connections without affecting the housing section, thereby improving adaptability while maintaining structural integrity through optimized material selection for each segment.
2Ease of manufacture
If the pump housing is designed as a single integrated piece, then manufacturing simplicity is improved, but ease of maintenance and component access are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The pump housing is segmented into a housing section and a flange section that can be separately manufactured and assembled. The housing section can be manufactured using cost-effective aluminum casting or machining, while the flange section is manufactured separately as a stainless steel component. This segmentation enables independent manufacturing optimization for each part and allows the flange section to be easily removed and replaced during maintenance without disassembling the entire pump housing, significantly improving ease of maintenance and component access.
3Weight of moving object
If different materials are used for housing section and flange section, then weight reduction and cost optimization are improved, but manufacturing complexity and assembly complexity are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The pump housing is divided into two segments with different materials: the housing section is made of aluminum to reduce overall weight, while the flange section is made of stainless steel for robustness and corrosion resistance at the connection interface. The segmentation enables each part to be optimized for its specific functional requirements while keeping the overall design simple through a straightforward coupling connection that requires minimal assembly steps.
Solution Approach 2:
Different material properties are applied to different parts of the pump housing based on local functional requirements. The aluminum housing section provides lightweight construction for the main body, while the stainless steel flange section provides localized durability and corrosion resistance at the connection point. This local quality approach optimizes the weight-to-strength ratio by applying heavy-duty material only where needed rather than throughout the entire housing.
4Ease of operation
If the mounting section has openings, then ease of assembly and component access are improved, but structural stability and compactness are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting section is designed as a solid, opening-free component that couples the housing section and flange section. This solid structure provides high structural stability and compactness. The ease of assembly is maintained through the separate segmentation of the housing and flange sections, which can be assembled using the mounting section as a stable coupling element without requiring openings in the mounting section itself.
Data Source
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AI summary
A vacuum pump, in particular a turbomolecular pump, comprises a pump housing with a housing section for receiving pump-active components of the vacuum pump and with a flange section spanning a mounting plane, which is provided for connecting the vacuum pump to a receiver and which is preferably formed in one piece, wherein the housing section and the flange section are formed as separate components, wherein the housing section comprises a support section, and wherein the flange section comprises a coupling section that can be coupled to the receiver and a mounting section connected to the support section, which is formed without openings at least in one direction perpendicular to the mounting plane.