Rough Vac

The ROI of Proper Filtration

By Bella Alfaro, Marketing Coordinator, and Rich Ricciardi, Market Manager, Solberg Manufacturing

This article examines how industrial facilities can quantify the return on investment associated with disciplined filter change scheduling. By connecting pressure drop, energy consumption, maintenance costs and equipment longevity, facilities can move from reactive maintenance to measurable operational control.

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Wolf Nudeln Reduces Water Use with Claw Vacuum Pumps

By Lisa Glatt, Head of Marketing, Busch Austria

By replacing liquid ring and compressed air systems with centralized rotary claw vacuum pumps, Austrian pasta manufacturer Wolf Nudeln significantly reduced water consumption, maintenance requirements and operating costs. This case study demonstrates how modern vacuum technology improves efficiency, reliability and product quality in food manufacturing while supporting long-term sustainability goals.

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Designing Vacuum Processes for Greater Efficiency

By Meike Strasheim, Head of Market Management Content Strategy, Pfeiffer Vacuum+Fab Solutions

Efficient vacuum systems are built through thoughtful process design, not just equipment selection. This article outlines four critical strategies to improve performance and reduce operating costs: using multiple pumping stages to optimize efficiency across pressure ranges, managing vapor loads through pre-condensation, preventing performance losses from condensates and carryover and controlling operating temperatures. By addressing these factors early in the design phase, facilities can enhance productivity, lower energy consumption and ensure long-term reliability of vacuum processes.

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GlobalVac & Air Upgrades the Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center

By Troy Dreier, Senior Editor, Blower & Vacuum Best Practices Magazine

An aging 103 acfm oil-free rotary claw vacuum system was replaced with a skid-mounted duplex configuration featuring two 5.4 hp pumps, automated lead/lag controls and an inlet purge system to handle increased laboratory demand and prevent chemical contamination. The upgraded system delivers up to 106 acfm and 28”Hg, providing higher vacuum capacity, redundancy and improved operational stability within a constrained mechanical room footprint.

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Best Practices 2025 EXPO & Conference Blower & Vacuum Show Report

By Troy Dreier, Senior Editor, and Brooke Jones, Digital Content Editor, Compressed Air Best Practices® Magazine

The Best Practices 2025 EXPO & Conference contained plenty of sessions for industrial vacuum, blower and aeration blower professionals, including conference tracks, workshops devoted to pneumatic conveying and blower engineering and original equipment manufacturers on the EXPO floor.

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Industrial Vacuum System Basics

By Benjamin Cameron, Business Line Manager, Vacuum, Quincy Compressor

The objective of this article is to make vacuum systems a little less confusing by providing some foundational vacuum principles. Naturally, the best place to start is with an examination of air compressors! Air compressors take air from an open system (the atmosphere) and discharge it into a closed system, resulting in a higher pressure. The potential energy of high-pressure air is then used to serve an operational purpose.

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A Guide to Vacuum Pump Sizing

By Michael Ruff, Business Development & Technology Director, Becker Pumps Corporation

Know Your Vacuum Pump Application Key Vacuum Pump Sizing Terms Moving Different Gasses with a Vacuum Pump Vacuum Pump Size and Total Volume Tips to Consider When Choosing a Vacuum Pump

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7 Best Practices for Leak Detection in Vacuum Systems

By Sinja W. Stentoft, Editor Communications, Busch Vacuum Solutions

Leaks in vacuum systems can cause considerable damage to sensitive industrial processes. The vacuum pump’s ability to generate and maintain the desired vacuum level is compromised as the process gas escapes the pump or contaminants – such as air, dust and debris – enter. This leads to accelerated wear and tear of internal components such as seals and gaskets, and the vacuum pump may fail or require more frequent servicing. As a result, energy bills and overall operating costs increase drastically, while output quality suffers.

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6 Maintenance Tips for Winterizing Your Vacuum Pumps

By Robert Stevens, Engineering and Marketing Manager, Busch Vacuum Solutions

When cold weather approaches, safeguarding the performance and longevity of your vacuum pumps becomes a top priority. Cold conditions pose unique challenges that can affect the reliability and efficiency of these crucial industrial components. At Busch Vacuum Solutions, we understand the importance of winterization in preventing corrosion, freezing and other potential damage. In this guide, we’ll share tips to ensure your vacuum pumps continue to operate optimally during the colder months.

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Vacuum Receivers: Full of Vacuum or Full of Myth?

By Jackson Redline, Engineered System Solutions Project Manager, Rogers Machinery

In this article, we’ll discuss some of the uses for receiver tanks for positive pressure systems where the pressure inside the system is greater than atmospheric pressure, and the uses, or lack thereof of, receiver tanks in vacuum systems where the system pressure is less than atmospheric pressure.

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When to Repair vs. Replace Your Vacuum Pump: A Guide

By Mary MacGregor Velhinho, Busch Vacuum Solutions

If your vacuum pump is malfunctioning, you are faced with a choice: repair or replacement. Our guide will take you through both options and provide recommendations on when it makes sense to repair vacuum pumps and when to replace them. We will also take a look at how to spot and diagnose common issues before they lead to system failure. Whatever the path of action, the decision to repair or replace always begins with testing and diagnosis. A factory-trained service technician who specializes in vacuum pump services inspects the equipment and identifies the problem.

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Advanced Vacuum Generation Reduces Maintenance

By Dr. Fabian Fahlbusch, Head of Content Marketing, Busch Vacuum Solutions

Industrial ceramics have been produced in Hermsdorf, near Jena, since 1890. In the past, high-voltage insulators; now, ceramic honeycomb bodies for heat exchangers, ventilation and emission control systems. They have always kept up with the times, developing innovative materials, products and state-of-the-art production processes to do so.

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Vacuum Fundamentals: Process Applications and Oil-Free Technology

By Bryan A. Jensen, Engineered System Solutions Manager, Rogers Machinery Company

Manufacturing has two major categories of industrial vacuum applications, utility and process vacuum. Utility applications are all about utilizing the differential pressure between the inside of the vacuum system and the higher positive pressure of the atmosphere around us to perform a work-based-task in the physical world.

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Hygienic Vacuum Packaging for Cheese

By Busch Vacuum Solutions

Vacuum and protective gas both reduce the activity of oxygen-dependent microorganisms inside the packaging. This way, vacuum-packaged foodstuffs have a longer shelf life, even without preservatives. There are different types of vacuum packaging. When it comes to cheese, the type of vacuum packaging depends heavily on the specific type of cheese.

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Vacuum and Compressed Air Systems at IWF 2022

By Roderick Smith, Blower & Vacuum Best Practices® Magazine

The IWF 2022 International Woodworking Fair was held August 23-26 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia. This was the first global woodworking fair since 2018. The Show attracted announced the attendance of thousands of verified buyers of woodworking equipment. IWF is the largest woodworking technology trade show in North America and is held every other year at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, GA. It is ranked among the largest trade shows in the world.

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New Vacuum Solution Ensures Safe & Sustainable Tires at Continental

By Busch Vacuum Solutions

The new solution also saves close to 90 percent of the annual maintenance costs. The side channel blowers required intensive repairs and were therefore a source of high costs. MINK MV claw vacuum pumps provide completely dry compression of intake air and thus work without operating fluids such as oil or water. This makes the vacuum pumps virtually maintenance-free.

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Vacuum Upgrades Improve Operations at SupremeX

By Ron Marshall, Marshall Compressed Air Consulting

SupremeX, a Canadian based envelope and packaging manufacturer, with 11 facilities across six provinces, as well as five facilities in the United States, recently upgraded the vacuum system in their Winnipeg based plant. This article discusses the system before and after the changes, and the significant energy savings, plus improved system reliability that resulted. The company also captured a significant utility incentive to help with the cost of a new cutting-edge variable speed vacuum pump.

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Fresh Food and Clay Extrusion Vacuum System Case Studies

By Uli Merkle, Busch Vacuum Solutions

Vacuuming fresh food using chamber machines is often a daily activity in butcher shops, at fresh food counters for meat, sausage, and cheese products, as well as in the foodservice industry. All fresh foods contain more or less unbound water, which partially evaporates during vacuum packaging. This can influence the quality of the product. Furthermore, if the packaging machine is not permanently in operation, the packaging result may deteriorate, or the packaging process may take too long.

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Vacuum in Plastic Extrusion

By Tie Duan, E.W. Klein & Co.

The basic function of vacuum degassing is to remove the vaporized gas and moisture from the extruded material. During the extrusion process, as raw materials melt under heat and pressure inside the extruder. The polymer chains and chemical compositions are going through changes, and a variety of gases are released.

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Vacuum Solutions for Plastic Recycling

By Tracy Mosshart, Business Development Manager, Edwards Industrial Vacuum

More than 300 million tons of plastic is produced every year, and much of it ends up causing environmental problems. In response to these challenges, there are widespread global efforts to increase recycling capacity and innovate for more efficient and effective recycling solutions. Vacuum plays a critical role in achieving these improvements.

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Vacuum Pumps for Pneumatic Suction Conveying

By Uli Merkel, Busch Vacuum Solutions

Nowadays, pneumatic suction conveying is an important technology for feeding bulk goods gently through piping systems to the various process steps. In the area of food processing, the pharmaceutical and chemical industry and for material feed in plastics processing, suction conveying is indispensable when powder or granular materials have to be transported. The proper choice of the vacuum generator essentially determines the operating costs of a pneumatic conveying system.

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Two Vacuum System Optimization Case Studies from Europe

By Uli Merkel, Busch Vacuum Solutions

By using state-of-the-art vacuum technology for degassing mineral water, it has been possible to save an average of 3,000 cubic meters of water per filling plant per year. The solution was to replace the existing liquid ring vacuum pumps with MINK claw vacuum pumps from Busch Vacuum Solutions.

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Case Studies in Dry vs. Wet Vacuum Pumps

By Tie Duan, E.W. Klein & Co.

We present a few case studies derived on real-world application examples, where various vacuum technologies may be suitable solutions. Each case is generalized enough that the knowledge is applicable across multiple specific applications.

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Liquid Ring Vacuum Pumps and Food Applications

By Tie Duan, E.W. Klein & Co.

The food industries can have many messy processes, whether it is poultry evisceration, deboned waste conveying, bottling, or sugar cake filtration. Liquid ring vacuum pumps (LRVP’s) are often utilized as the backbone of these processes because they can handle the soft solids, debris, and particles that can easily get sucked into the vacuum pump. So how does a LRVP work, why does it work in these processes, and how to make sure they keep working?

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Considerations for Sizing Vacuum Pumps in High Humidity Applications

By Antonio Mantilla, Product & Applications Marketing Manager, Atlas Copco

Many of us are familiar with sizing vacuum pumps based on throughput, process pressure requirements, chamber size, pump down times, conductance and leakage. In a lot of cases, humidity becomes an afterthought and unexpected things happen. Some of these unexpected things we learn to live with, like emulsified oil. In other cases, the unexpected things prevent the pump from performing the job it was intended for.

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Optimizing Booster/Liquid Ring Vacuum Pump Performance with a Plastics Manufacturer

By Michael Cicalese and Chris Halbach, Wintek Corporation

Wintek Corporation was contacted by a plastics manufacturing company in the summer of 2015 to evaluate their process vacuum capabilities. The customer was looking to replace a recently purchased used vacuum system to be used in a PET solid state polymerization/drying application. The process required high heat and vacuum and needed to run at 1 mBarA (0.75 Torr). The customer had purchased the dryer and accompanying vacuum system from an overseas supplier. While they were happy with the dryer, the vacuum system was not delivering the desired performance.

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