quieter vacuum pump?

[WayOutWest]

Hi, sorry if this has been asked before.

If I wanted to spend more money to get a quieter vacuum pump, could anybody recommend one? Especially if it's known to work.

Also interested in a more powerful pump (for very large BGAs), but quiet is more important than powerful right now.

Thanks,

[mrandt]

Hey Adam,

ultimate solution would be a silent dental compressor either with a vacuum port or an attached venturi valve to "convert" pressure to vacuum. Unfortunately these beasts cost more than the LitePlacer machine... You might be able to source such equipment second-hand from a dentist office as they usually have to replace the compressor ever so often.

Stronger vacuum is not a problem - could also be achieved using small and cheap diaphragm or piston compressors. But they will be just as noisy (or even noisier) as the one supplied with the kit.

My solution was to put the pump into a detached "noise insulation box". Basically a box about 20x25x25cm I made from 22mm MDF and insulated with 40mm acustic foam on the inside. Soft rubber feet decouple it from ground. You can still notice the pump but it does not disturb anyone in the workshop.

I can upload a picture later if you want inspiration

I use a TZ 712/P12-15040 from Topsflo (http://www.topsflo.com/mini-diaphragm-pump/) which does -60kPa / + 150 kPa pressure at about 40 liters flow rate - which is enough for even larger needles. I think that specific model is no longer made, but there are many similar pumps out there. Stronger vacuum will probably not hurt, but make sure that your power supply provides enough current (3 amps even for my pump here).

It is also a good idea to use some reservoir to "store" vacuum. I installed a simple metal bottle using a T-connector in between the tubing going from pump to solenoid valve. It works just like a capacitor in an electronic circuit and makes sure there is even pressure and flow of air whenever you operate the valve.

Further improvement would be to install a pressure switch on the reservoir tank, so pump will automatically run when pressure drops below (or above in this case) a predefined threshold.

Hope this helps

Malte

[JuKu]

When preparing for the kit selling, I bought three different pumps to try. All had similar vacuum, the one in the kit is by far the most silent from the three. So, I don't know about a more quiet option, although I searched.

[WayOutWest]

My solution was to put the pump into a detached "noise insulation box". Basically a box about 20x25x25cm I made from 22mm MDF and insulated with 40mm acustic foam on the inside. Soft rubber feet decouple it from ground. You can still notice the pump but it does not disturb anyone in the workshop.

I can upload a picture later if you want inspiration

Malte

Malte, you are the best! This worked awesomely. Now the pump is totally silent when the solenoid is open (to the atmosphere) and purrs like a kitten when occluded Not sure about dB, but in terms of annoyingness it is now far below the stepper "music" (which I don't really mind).

Here are the photos from how I did it. I'm kinda lazy, so I just bought an electrical outlet wall-box (single-gang, PVC) and injected it with expanding polyurethane foam (called "Great Stuff", literally). Of course this means that the pump is permanently entombed in there; once the foam cures it can't be removed (there's no solvent for it). So I wrapped the pump in a ziploc baggie to make sure no foam got inside the pump case.

After putting the lid back on (not shown), you need to inject more foam in through the hole where the wires+hoses exit, so the hole is sealed up really really well. Then put tape over the hold so that the foam's natural expansion pushes it into all the gaps inside the box rather than ooze out of the exit port. Once the foam cures (give it longer than usual since most of the foam isn't exposed to the air -- I left it overnight) you can remove the tape.

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[mrandt]

Hey Adam,

thanks for the pictures - nice and compact solution.

I thought I'd also share pictures of the noise insulation box I have built for the TopsFlo pump.

It was made from MDF and insulated using 40mm noise block foam.

Decoupling from floor is achieved by soft rubber feet.

There are two tubes going out of the box because I use the pump both for vacuum and pressure.

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