Vacuum Chamber¶
Chamber¶
The heart of XO-VAC+ is the stainless steel vacuum chamber mounted on top of the rack. The chamber itself consists of a DN200 CF cylindrical vacuum chamber with a glass windowed access door and DN160 CF access ports on the sides .
The inside face of the glass window in the door has been fitted with a removable reflective shield to improve thermal performance of the chamber. It has a polished surface on the inside to limit thermal radiations from the vacuum chamber window to the shroud and the test payload.
The Window Cover may be removed if it is preferred to have visibility into the chamber during operation. Removing the cover will slightly reduce XO-VAC+ thermal performance (range and speed).
Note
Be careful not to scratch the surface of the Window Cover as surface damage will change its radiative properties and limit its performance.
Ports¶
On each side of the vacuum chamber there are ports allowing access for bespoke and custom equipment into the chamber. Custom ports and interfaces may have been provided at the customer's request, otherwise unused ports will be sealed with blank plates. Exobotics are not responsible for any customer-built devices or modifications that are installed using these ports.
Warning
When reattaching cover plates or modified attachments to these ports, the bolts should be tightened using an appropriate sized hex-key to 20 Nm for DN63, DN75, DN100 and DN200 CF flanges, 16 Nm for DN40, DN25 CF flanges and 9 Nm for DN16 CF flanges.
Danger - Risk of injuries and vacuum pumps being damaged
Do not remove or dissassemble vacuum feedthroughs while the chamber is under vacuum. A sudden vent to ambient pressure will damage the vacuum pumps and can injure the operator.
Note
Be careful not to scratch the knife edges of the CF flanges. If the knife edges are dented or scratched, it might compromise the vacuum performance of the system.
Note
Always use new copper gaskets when installing CF feedthroughs.
Note
Always inspect the knife edges for dust or contaminations before assembling the feedthrough on the vacuum chamber.
