Schwarzer Precision has been producing durable and precise miniature diaphragm pumps for a wide range of applications in medical, laboratory and analytical technology for over 50 years. Following, we will inform you about the function and design of our diaphragm pumps.
Function of the diaphragm pump
The diaphragm pump is a special type of positive displacement pump that transports gases or liquids using a flexible diaphragm. As a gas pump, it is also used to supply compressed air or vacuum, while as a liquid pump it is often used for dosing, flushing and cleaning.
A diaphragm pump is particularly resistant to continuous stress and impurities in the pumped medium. The basic mode of operation is based on the alternating enlargement and reduction of a working chamber ("pump chamber") in which the substance to be pumped is located.
The diaphragm is periodically moved up and down by a drive mechanism. As the diaphragm moves downwards, the volume of the pump chamber increases. This creates a vacuum that draws the pumped medium into the pump chamber via an inlet valve.
During the subsequent upward movement of the diaphragm (reduction of the chamber volume), the pumped medium is expelled from the pump chamber via an outlet valve. In this way, a controlled and precisely controllable one-way delivery is achieved.
Construction of the diaphragm pump
Our compact miniature diaphragm pumps are designed for precise, reliable and particularly efficient pumping of gases and liquids. They typically consist of the following main components:
- Diaphragm:
The simplest type of diaphragm is a disc made of a flexible elastomer that is clamped all around. High demands are placed on this central component: the diaphragm must reliably seal the pump chamber, it must be chemically resistant to the respective pumped medium and must not exhibit material fatigue even after many millions of deformations. We provide our customers with a variety of specifically customised diaphragm materials so that our pumps can also be used to reliably pump hot gases or aggressive acids and alkalis, for example.
- Valves:
The inlet and outlet valves open and close analogue to the movement of the diaphragm and control the controlled flow of the pumped medium. Our diaphragm pumps are equipped with valves that open particularly quickly and seal reliably. Here too, we provide our customers with various valve materials depending on the pump's area of application.
- Drive mechanism:
The drive is responsible for the periodic movement of the diaphragm. This can be achieved either by an electric motor (→ eccentric diaphragm pump, → rotary diaphragm pump) or by an electromagnetic drive (oscillating armature or → vibrating diaphragm pump, → linear diaphragm pump, → pivot diaphragm pump). Depending on the application, we offer our customers a wide range of drives for power supplies from 1.5 Vdc to 230 Vac.
- Housing:
the compact and high-strength housings of our diaphragm pumps are designed so that they can be integrated into our customers' devices particularly easily and in a space-saving manner. Screw and plug-in hoses as well as hose-free versions (→ Manifold) are available for connecting the pump to the respective peripherals. High-density pump heads ensure contamination-free pumping of the medium and unadulterated measurement results.
Benefits of the diaphragm pump
The use of diaphragm pumps offers a number of clear advantages over other pump designs in many applications:
- Precise controllability:
Diaphragm pumps enable highly accurate delivery of gases and liquids. Both the flow rate and the required pressure (or vacuum) can be regulated very precisely via the applied control voltage.
- Reliability:
Due to their robust design and low number of moving parts, our diaphragm pumps are particularly reliable pumps with a long service life.
- Contamination-free conveying:
The diaphragm shields the drive from harmful influences of the pumped media. At the same time, the hermetically sealed pump head prevents contamination of the pumped media from the ambient air. This solves one of the biggest disadvantages of the conventional piston pump, the problem of sealing the piston.
- Compact design:
a diaphragm pump can be designed to be particularly space-saving, allowing easy integration into small mobile devices with limited space.
- Versatility:
diaphragm pumps can be used to pump a wide variety of gases, liquids and condensates. They are also used to supply compressed air and vacuum. The wide performance range and easy adjustability of diaphragm pumps allow them to be precisely adapted to all requirements in various applications.
With a width of just 13 mm, the → SP 100 EC diaphragm pump can be easily integrated into compact mobile devices
Performance ranges of our diaphragm pumps
Our miniature diaphragm pumps cover a wide performance range. We supply customised gas diaphragm pumps with a flow rate of 0.04 l/min to 20.8 l/min, a maximum pressure of up to 3.1 bar (rel.) and a maximum vacuum of up to -970 mbar (rel.).
Our liquid diaphragm pumps deliver a flow rate of 20 ml/min to 1400 ml/min and can be used up to a pressure of 15 m H2O or a suction head of up to -9 m H2O.
The powerful → SP 550 EC diaphragm pump is used, for example, in highly sensitive gas detectors to localise leaks
Typical applications of our diaphragm pumps
Diaphragm pumps from Schwarzer Precision can be precisely adapted to the respective application in all parameters and are characterised by high reliability, precise controllability and a long service life. This is why our miniature pumps are used in a wide variety of mobile and stationary applications, e.g. in devices for
- → medical technology,
- → laboratory and analysis technology,
- environmental technology,
- → safety technology,
- printing technology and reprographics,
- → industrial technology,
- food technology,
- air conditioning and energy technology.