When integrated into machinery, a vacuum chamber can be used to create a low-pressure environment that allows gases to be manipulated in ways that would not be possible at atmospheric pressure.
For example, in semiconductor manufacturing where PP Control & Automation hold decades of vital machine and system build experience, a vacuum chamber is used to deposit thin films of material onto a substrate.
Gas management in vacuum chambers is essential to control the pressure, composition, and temperature of the gas inside. This is achieved using gas handling systems, such as mass flow controllers, which can accurately control the flow rate of gases into and out of the chamber. Additionally, gas analysers and leak detection systems are used to monitor the composition and pressure of the gas inside the chamber, ensuring that the conditions are as desired.
Also typical in industrial sectors such as medical and life sciences or aerospace and solar cell production, vacuum chambers and gas management systems are often used and integrated into complex machine builds. These high technology fields can benefit from valuable experience and competence in sourcing and assembling of vacuum chambers and associated gas management systems through a well-devised outsourcing strategy with PP C&A.
PP C&A can assemble and test vacuum chambers and gas management in-line with customer specific needs, including services such as helium leak testing.
Through a combination of key technology partners, PP C&A can give customers access to several disciplines that are deemed critical to achieving optimum vacuum chamber and gas management system performance and safety. For example, design requirements and material selection, alongside other manufacturing competencies such as fabrication and the processes of casting, forging, or stamped metal parts can be sought.
Components are assembled into the final build, which could include installing vacuum pumps, valves, gas handling systems, and other components that make up the complete system.
Before the vacuum chamber and/or an associated gas management system is shipped to the customer, it is thoroughly tested to ensure that it meets the specifications and performs as expected. This typically includes vacuum and leak testing, as well as testing of the gas handling systems and other components.
Ensure your chosen partner is competent in several different considerations and is aware of the critical aspects of your particular system assembly or build.
Vacuum chambers must be able to maintain a high level of vacuum and withstand high temperatures. An outsourcing partner should show the competencies required to ensure vacuum pumps, valves, and other components assembled are of the highest quality and any build is able to maintain the vacuum level over time.
Materials must be compatible with the process and the substances that are going to be in contact with the chamber and quality of chosen components is key. An outsourcing partner must display the ability to inherit, manage, and improve the associated supply chain and ensure material and component selection is in-line with system specific requirements.
The vacuum chamber must have a low leak rate to maintain the vacuum for the desired process. The chosen manufacturer and outsourcing partner should be able to provide leak rate specifications and undergo stringent testing processes in-line with any customer specific needs.
The gas management system must be able to accurately control the flow rate, pressure, and composition of gases within the chamber. The manufacturer and outsourcing partner should be able to provide the specifications of the gas handling system, such as the flow rate range, control accuracy and control resolution.
The manufacturer and outsourcing partner should be a source for continued build quality and performance improvements and show the flexibility to adjust to design changes or customisations to the system. The partner should also be competent in recommending improvements that make the manufacture more efficient through DFMA and engineering processes.
Your chosen manufacturing partner should have a robust quality control program in place to ensure that vacuum chamber and gas management systems meet the required specifications and perform as expected.
Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DFMA) is a core discipline practiced at PP C&A and can be best understood as a set of guidelines and best practices for designing products in a way that makes them easy and efficient to manufacture and assemble.
The goal of DFMA is to reduce costs, improve quality, and increase efficiency during the manufacturing process.
DFMA can encompass several value add techniques, such as using standardised components, simplifying designs, and minimising the number of parts used.
Essentially, by following DFMA principles, PP C&A can help machine builders and OEMs design systems that are easier to manufacture, assemble, test, and maintain. Cost savings, improved quality, and shorter lead times are renowned key benefits to following these principles.
Minimising the number of parts
Using standardised components
Simplifying designs
Optimising tolerances
Reducing assembly steps
Improving accessibility for testing and repair
Minimising material waste
PP C&A is always inspired by the many benefits of building partnerships as part of a wider strategy to support the trend for outsourced design, engineering and more specialist competencies required by OEMs involved in complex machine building.
Cooperation within a framework of customer specific needs and optimisation of those needs, alongside the ability to adapt and drive innovation is sought after now more than ever.
PP C&A’s technical partnerships with innovative technology suppliers, testing & approval bodies and industry associations facilitates the continuous development of the company, capturing emerging opportunities at speed thanks to an ‘on request’ pool of expert knowledge and know-how to dip into.
If leveraging the benefits of partnerships developed at PP C&A could help on your growth journey, then PP+ may be of interest. PP+ is an expansion of the traditional outsourcing model that considers the customer’s growth objectives and offers a single-source solution to industry-best resources and guidance.
The best of manufacturing, business and academia have come together to bridge the £bn+ commercial valley of death in the UK.
What if by understanding what works across other regions, successful approaches can be combined to build a collaboration blueprint for UK manufacturers to call their own.
In an era where environmental concerns are at the forefront of global discourse, the UK manufacturing sector finds itself at a crossroads. To flourish, there is a compelling argument that it must undergo a profound transformation towards sustainability.
There are various types of machines and devices that contribute to the circular economy by enabling resource conservation, waste reduction, recycling, and the reuse of materials. The demand increase in these varieties has been more progressive in recent years.
When adopting new technologies and exploring emerging industries, there is often a disruptive element involved. They can challenge established norms, disrupt traditional industries, and require individuals and organisations to adapt to new ways of doing things.
PP Control & Automation has started working on projects worth more than £2million in the last year alone, projects that are all involved in renewable energy, energy storage and building machines for electrification across a myriad of transport sectors.
Navigating the maze of approvals is one that you really don’t want to be attempting alone. PP+ Growth Module Partner, Product Approvals Ltd is a specialist consultancy and testing solutions company.
The PP+ outsourcing model gives access to several ‘Growth Module Partners’ that sit within the realms of industrial design and offer a luxury of different design disciplines.
Within weeks, KPM is already reaping the rewards of the PP+ ecosystem of specialist Growth Module Partners.
One of the UK’s leading strategic manufacturing outsourcing specialists is aiming to help domestic businesses cross the well-publicised ‘valley of death’.
PP C&A is a proud and long-standing member of the Manufacturing Assembly Network, also known as the MAN Group.
The MAN Group is a network of manufacturing companies designed to share technical excellence in mechanical, electrical and electronic engineering processes.
As a customer and partner of PP C&A, access is open to numerous manufacturing disciplines from a single source and a more stable solution for complex, multi-discipline engineering projects.
The MAN Group consists of seven specialist manufacturers, one engineering design agency and the knowledge transfer of Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG).
Aluminium casting
CNC & conventional machining
Contract electronics manufacturing
Electrical & electronics assemblies
Forging
Metal stamping
Plastic injection moulding
Tube bending & manipulation
A combination of production and engineering capabilities to suit your specific needs can be accommodated to deliver the desired result.
Such a solution can broadly be divided into module build, part machine build or full machine build – – whichever provides the optimum solution for you.
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There should always be a process of consideration when selecting the right outsourcing partner and understanding how that partner delivers against your requirements. That’s why PP C&A introduced the 3D process. It clearly defines the whole journey into three specific stages: Discovery, Decision, Delivery.
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This collection of case studies examines some of the recent strategic outsourcing partnerships delivering against several business pains for machine builders and OEMs. This guide collects case studies published during 2021.
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This guide highlights key technical supplier relationships covering a broad set of categories, from industrial design support and access to academia, and automation and legislation partnerships, to packing and shipping finished goods, all designed to add sought after value to customers.
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A leading aquaculture specialist – that is changing the way fish are vaccinated safely – has signed a major manufacturing deal.
Explore how PP Control & Automation helps machine builders and OEMs solve real operational challenges through strategic outsourcing.
One of the hospitality sector’s most significant innovations has been given a production boost thanks to the scale and outsourcing capability of PP Control & Automation.
Unique technology born in the heart of Oxfordshire is helping protect millions of electronic devices across the world and its impact is set to grow even further over the next eighteen months.
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PP Control & Automation and Hedinn are now engaged in their 13th project together and the largest yet, the construction of a new plant for Sildarvinnslan.
Play an interactive video with hotpoints that delve into the story behind the manufacturing partnership with Needham Group and the assembly of its N-Lase range of products.
A strategic manufacturing outsourcing partnership – built on trust, integrity and maximising each other’s production expertise – is celebrating ten years together with the launch of the world’s most productive EDM drilling machine.
This collection of case studies examines some of the recent strategic outsourcing partnerships delivering against several business pains for machine builders and OEMs, and how those partners are benefiting from the PP C&A approach.
Turning to the strategic manufacturing outsourcing expertise of PP Control & Automation could prove to be a pivotal decision for Needham Group as it aims to turn a £30m expansion blueprint into reality.
One of the UK’s leading strategic manufacturing specialists is tapping into the UK’s unprecedented investment in upgrading the electricity grid.
As Britain accelerates investment in grid infrastructure, protection and control capacity could become a critical delivery constraint.
The appointment of a new Prime Minister inevitably brings renewed debate about the direction of the UK economy and what it could mean for business.
Ian Knight, Chief Information Officer at PP Control & Automation (PP C&A) challenges the prevailing, often vague narrative around AI adoption and reframes the conversation around a more practical starting point: operational constraints.
Artificial intelligence is no longer a distant concept for manufacturers. It is already being explored across quotation, production planning, engineering, quality, supply chain and customer service functions. Yet, for many organisations, the gap between experimentation and meaningful operational impact remains difficult to close.
A leading aquaculture specialist – that is changing the way fish are vaccinated safely – has signed a major manufacturing deal.
On paper, defined discipline-specific suppliers can look organised. However, every additional supplier introduces another handoff, and every handoff creates another point where time, quality, communication and accountability can be lost.
Very rarely does growth not surface because an OEM lacks ambition. Shortcomings arise because operating models built to support such ambition don’t evolve quickly enough.
Recent weeks have brought two important industry moments into sharp focus, concluding that demand for AI and automation is rising, but investment, skills, and long-term thinking must follow.
For decades, one question has sat at the heart of operational strategy for machine builders and OEMs: make or buy? It’s a familiar debate and it isn’t the wrong question by any means, but perhaps it is an incomplete one.
We believe in meeting you, listening and understanding your needs first and foremost.
If you are considering PP C&A’s vacuum chamber & gas management assembly services or you wish to review your outsourcing strategies, we would welcome the opportunity for discussion.
