Outgassing and O-Rings

o-rings vacuum baking

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Engineering faster pump-down and more complete evacuation of vacuum systems.

Outgassing, also called offgassing, refers to the release of gas that has become trapped, frozen, dissolved, or absorbed in another material. Outgassing is a common problem when creating, or maintaining, a clean high-vacuum environment. High-vacuum environments, as well as high temperatures, increase the rate of outgassing due to vapor pressure and an increase in chemical reactions.

With proper preparation you can drastically reduce the amount of outgassing in your vacuum system. Cleaning surfaces properly or heating individual components (a process called “bake-out”) can help virtually eliminate outgassing. One of the best ways to help reduce outgassing is the use of specifically formulated and treated O-ring installation – cleaned or vacuum baked O-rings.    

vacuum baking o-rings

Cleaned O-rings undergo UC Components’ proprietary cleaning process, designed to reduce or eliminate surface particulate contamination originating from injection-mold release agents and post-mold handling. Vacuum Baked O-rings also go through our precision cleaning process which is then followed by an extended vacuum bake-out process. The RediVac® Vacuum Baking Process offers an added level of cleanliness assurance specifically by minimizing residual hydrocarbons and water vapor, to further reduce outgassing and residual surface contaminants. By baking-out under vacuum, we can meet or exceed the requirements of many of today’s leading scientific research facilities, beam lines, and test chambers operating HV, UHV, and EUV environments. Residual Gas Analyzation (RGA) Certification is another tool offered to ensure your parts meet the highest cleanliness standards.

UC Components’ RediVac® O-rings are specially processed for use in High Vacuum and Ultra High Vacuum equipment. The UC Component, Inc. RediVac® Vacuum Baking Process is the latest option we’ve added to our family of RediVac® precision cleaned and clean-packaged fasteners, washers, nuts, and O-rings. All of our fasteners and O-rings are cleaned and packaged in our certified Class 100/ISO Class 5 Cleanroom. This process is based on typical requirements for pre-cleaning elastomer seals prior to installation for vacuum service.

Request a quote today on the O-rings that your HV or UHV application requires.

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