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Rotary Vane Vacuum Pumps can Start Your Day

Two of my favorite things to drink (besides water) in the whole world are fountain soda pop and espresso drinks. Nothing tastes better to me on a cold, tired morning than a nice, warm vanilla latte. The mixture of caffeine and milk makes me feel awake and full and ready for the day. And nothing tastes better than an ice cold fountain soda pop on afternoons when I hit the two o’clock tired wall. The caffeine and carbonation jolt me awake in order for me to have a productive rest of the afternoon.

Rotary vane vacuum pumps are used in the machines that make delicious espresso drinks and dispense fizzy, soda pop. Both of these machines use mid-range pressure, but these vacuum pumps can also accommodate high pressure as well. Rotary vane vacuum pumps are positive displacement pumps. It is made up of vanes that are mounted to a rotor inside of the pump cavity. Vanes can be a variety of different lengths and tensions in order to maintain contact with the cavity’s walls as the pump rotates. Several types of materials are used to make rotary vane vacuum pumps. The head and casing of the pumps can be made of cast iron, ductile iron, steel and/or stainless steel. The vane, pushrods and end plates are typically made of carbon graphite.

A main advantage of the rotary vane vacuum pump is that it can become a variable displacement pump, giving the pump more versatility. The centerline distance between the eccentric ring and rotor is used in order to measure the pump’s displacement. If the eccentric ring can pivot corresponding to the rotor, the displacement may be varied. If the eccentric ring moves far enough, it can pump in reverse. The pump’s performance, however, is not optimized to pump in both directions.

Vane pumps have been used as energy saving devices in dozens of applications. For over thirty years they have been used in automotive transmissions.