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Table of contents:
By definition, vacuum is the total absence of matter in a space or place, or the lack of content inside a container.
On a practical level, any volume whose air pressure is below atmospheric pressure is considered to be in a vacuum state.
Vacuum corresponds to a state in which air pressure is below atmospheric pressure. Therefore, the units used are the same as those for pressure.
The pressure unit of the International System (SI) is Pascal (Pa), although the bar or KPa are also commonly used, among others.
bar | Pa(N/m2) | atm | PSI | kgf/cm2 | mm Hg | mm H20 |
1 | 100000 | 0,987 | 14,504 | 1,02 | 750,064 | 10197,11 |
0,00001 | 1 | 9,869·10-6 | 1,5·10-4 | 1·10-5 | 0,007 | 0,102 |
1,013 | 101325 | 1 | 14,696 | 1,033 | 760,002 | 10332,22 |
0,069 | 6894,759 | 0,068 | 1 | 0,07 | 51,715 | 703,06 |
0,981 | 98066,52 | 0,968 | 14,223 | 1 | 735,561 | 9999,95 |
0,001 | 133,322 | 0,001 | 0,019 | 0,001 | 1 | 13,6 |
0,0001 | 9,807 | 0,0001 | 0,0014 | 0,0001 | 0,073 | 1 |
Depending on the pressure that's reached, the vacuum can be classified as low, medium or high. In the applications referred to in this catalogue, a high vacuum is never used because in no case is it necessary, and the energy required to achieve it would be extremely high.
Absolute vs. Relative pressure
Connect an air tube/hose from the compressor to the generator's air pressure port. The tube must have the appropriate internal diameter for the generator's pressure port (never one that's smaller). To do so, observe the input element assembled by AR or consult the pages of this catalogue or the corresponding technical manual.
To get the best performance out of the AR vacuum generators, an actual feed pressure of 5.5 bar or higher is recommended. This measurement must be taken at the generator input, since, at other points in the installation, the measurement could be misleading.
Several factors cause head losses (drop in pressure level) as air moves through the line from the compressor to the generator:
Connect a vacuum-suitable tube/hose of the same internal diameter as the generator's suction port. A tube diameter smaller than required reduces the generator's performance. A larger diameter than required lengthens evacuation times, also increasing response time.
Hoses suitable for vacuum where Ø ≥ 20 mm
Recommended tubes for different suction ports:
Starting from the main vacuum line connected to the generator, the different branches must be sized so that the tube sections go from bigger to smaller until reaching the suction cups.
Avoid "T" type bifurcations with the same input size as both outputs. The input area must be approximately the sum of the output areas so that the flow can be distributed.
A good solution in the case of several suction cups is to have a vacuum distributor (rigid strip) with an internal cross-section equal to that of the main vacuum line. This distributor connects to the main line (vacuum hose) and has as many outputs as suction cups we want to connect to.
Example: 40 x 40 mm square cross-section tubular distributor, G1" input and 6 G1/4" outputs.