How to Build a Vacuum Spring-Transport Package for Spinning Rotor Gauges

Published

April 7, 2016

Author(s)

James A. Fedchak, Julia K. Scherschligt, Makfir Sefa

Abstract

The spinning rotor gauge (SRG) is a high-vacuum gauge often used to as a secondary or transfer standard for vacuum pressures in the range of 1.0 × 10-4 Pa to 1.0 Pa. In this application, the gauges are frequently transported to laboratories for calibration. To assure calibration stability, a spring transport mechanism is often used to immobilize the rotor and keep it under vacuum during transport. It is important to transport the spring-transport mechanism using packaging designed to minimize the risk of damage during shipping. We give a detailed description of how to build a robust spring-transport mechanism and shipping container. Together these form a spring-transport package. We tested our design using drop-tests and found the performance to be excellent. Our spring-transport mechanism is designed to keep the rotor immobilized when experiencing shocks of several hundred g, while our shipping container assures that the mechanism will not experience shocks greater than about 100 g during common shipping mishaps (as defined by industry standards).

Citation

Journal of Visualized Experiments

Volume

110

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

DOI Link

Keywords

Spinning Rotor Gauge, Spring-Transport Mechanism, High-Vacuum Calibrations, Metrology, Key Comparison, Vacuum Gauge, Gauge Stability

Citation

Fedchak, J. , Scherschligt, J. and Sefa, M. (2016), How to Build a Vacuum Spring-Transport Package for Spinning Rotor Gauges, Journal of Visualized Experiments, [online], https://doi.org/10.3791/53937 (Accessed April 24, 2026)

Additional citation formats