Manufacturers and suppliers

• Turbomolecular pump manufacturers

Frequently asked questions

• What are hybrid turbomolecular pumps ?
Because turbomolecular pumps only work in molecular flow conditions, a pure turbomolecular pump will require a very large backing pump to work effectively. Hybrid pumps combine the turbomolecular pump with a molecular drag stage such as a Holweck or Gaede mechanism near the exhaust to reduce the size of backing pump required.

• Ball bearings or magnetic levitated ?
A turbo pump's high rotational speeds (some small diameter units operate at 60,000 rpm) put serious strain on the shaft bearings. Most manufacturers now offer light-weight ceramic ball bearings with grease lubrication since this combination is both light, lowering the momentum of the bearing, and has a low bearing-lubricant vapor pressure at the pump's working temperature.
More recently, manufacturers have begun offering magnetically levitated bearings which are either permanent magnets for the small sized pumps or a combination of permanent and dynamic magnetic fields, supporting the shaft without contact. Magnetically levitated pumps include non-contact bearings, resulting in a turbo pump that has true zero oil-vapor backstreaming with bearings that never wear down.