What are the types of vacuum flanges? How to read flange specifications?
What is a vacuum flange?
Vacuum flange is used to connect vacuum pipes, valves, chambers and other vacuum parts to achieve a completely sealed vacuum environment. Stainless steel vacuum flange is the most common material at present, because stainless steel has the advantages of high temperature resistance, corrosion resistance and scratch resistance. Although stainless steel has good reliability, users also need to know how to select vacuum flange specifications to ensure that your vacuum pipe system is foolproof. The vacuum system has extremely high requirements for sealing, because if the seal fails and the pressure rises, it may cause irreparable accidents or losses.
What are the applications of vacuum flanges?
The vacuum flange has a simple structure, but is widely used in the field of vacuum industrial automation. Any process that requires vacuum treatment requires the installation of vacuum pipe fittings, and the following industries have very strict requirements for vacuum processes.
- Semiconductor Industry:Various process steps in the semiconductor manufacturing process, such as thin film deposition and etching, require a pollution-free vacuum environment to ensure yield and quality.
- Pharmaceutical Industry:Many drugs, such as vaccines and protein preparations, rely on vacuum freeze-drying technology to maintain stable chemical properties and material structures.
- Metallurgical Manufacturing:Some rare metals cannot be heat treated under standard atmospheric pressure and require vacuum metallurgy systems for vacuum sintering, vacuum casting, vacuum welding, etc.
What are the types of vacuum flanges?
The commonly used vacuum flange specifications in the industry are CF flange, KF flange and ISO flange. Generally, KF, ISO-K, ISO-F and CF have different inner diameter size differences according to vacuum industry specifications used in different regions. The three most commonly used vacuum industry specifications are American standard ASTM, German standard DN and Japanese standard JIS.
CF Flange
CF flanges are ultra-high vacuum flanges. All calibers are installed using standard screws. They are made of all-metal materials and have excellent sealing ability and heat resistance. CF flanges have a cross-section sharp edge that is specially designed for metal sealing, so they are also called knife-edge flanges. The number after the CF model represents the inner diameter of the pipe fitting. The following are the commonly used CF flange specifications:
- Size range: 1/2" ~16.5"~16.5”
- Vacuum degree: up to10-12 mbar.
- Material: Stainless steel SUS304 or SUS316L
- Product Link:CF Knife Edge Flange
KF flange
KF flange is a quick-release flange in the vacuum system, so it is also called QF flange (Quick Flange). KF flanges are suitable for a variety of vacuum applications and are generally used in combination with tube bundles, sealing rings and center rings. The quick-disassembly tube bundle makes it easier to disassemble and install. You only need to manually unscrew or tighten the nut to quickly disassemble and install. The exterior has a special bevel to match the angle inside the tube bundle to achieve a sealing effect.
- Size range: 1/2" ~ 2"
- Vacuum degree: up to10-8 mbar.
- Material: Stainless steel SUS304 or aluminum-magnesium alloy 6061L
- Product Link:KF Tube Clamp
ISO flange
Standard ISO flanges are divided into ISO-K and ISO-F flanges for two different fixing methods. Both are large-sized vacuum flanges, but the flange edge of ISO-K (ISO LF) is fixed with pipe clamps, while ISO-F (ISO LFB) has traditional bolt holes installed on the flange edge and fixed with bolts and nuts. ISO flanges are suitable for large-size vacuum pipe applications that require frequent assembly and disassembly.
- Size range: 2 -1/2" and above (generally, the market only has standard sizes up to 14", and the diameters above this size are customized because the sealing ring is not easy to obtain.)
- Vacuum degree: up to 10-8 mbar.
- Material: Stainless steel SUS304 or aluminum-magnesium alloy 6061
Vacuum flange manufacturer recommendation
Anlai is a professional manufacturer specializing in the R&D and manufacturing of vacuum valves, with state-of-the-art equipment to ensure high-precision orbital welding, leak checking and packaging. All of our manufacturing processes are SEMI compliant and we also provide all gas line weldments for semiconductor OEM tool manufacturers. If you are looking for a suitable vacuum flange, please contact us！