We're Rebuilding!

August 11, 2019 Update
A new Education section has been added (see the new navigation button). This set of pages will contain an expanding set of information on vacuum training equipment (including legacy systems), details on construction, exercise information, etc.

July 5, 2019 Update
Check the Updates page for up-to-date status, a lot is happening!

This site was last updated in 2012. Most of the content is completely valid but there are broken links, outdated links, old Flash features that no longer work, and the code is outdated. I figure that the updating process will take a few months. The following describes fixes and some new planned content.

The "Articles & Publications" page will remain essentially the same but will be recoded. That will be the first page to be fixed.

The "Recommended Books" page is completely broken as the Amazon links are no longer valid and the images are gone. This will require total rework.

The "Gallery" has 3 images that don't show in some browers. Also, the two Flash videos won't show in some browsers. (Adobe has deprecated Flash in favor of HTML5.) These will be reformatted to a more universal video format. Additional tutorial videos are in preparation.

The "About" and "Safety" pages will remain essentially the same with updating of the code.

The Forum has been deleted. If there is a demand for a vacuum forum, I will probably use an external resource such as Groups.io.

I am no longer providing accessories such as adapters, chambers, etc. The volume was never high enough to justify the effort. These will be replaced by drawings and commercial sources.

I stopped posting links to my Vacuum Technology & Coating articles in 2012. The publisher also changed the the on line magazine server. I will have an index to articles (2009-present) with issue month/year, title and an optional brief description.

The commercial vacuum training products that were described are now out of production. Since I own the rights to the VPAL trainer that was manufactured by The Science Source, along with all of the support documentation, I am planning to make an improved design and associated documentation available for educational and personal use only. There will also be a very simple vacuum apparatus that never went into production. The designs include commercial vacuum fittings but much of what holds it together can be fabricated with hand tools, a bench drill press and a mini-lathe. All of this will greatly expand the Education pages on the old site.

I have retained my "man-in-vacuum" logo, even though it creeps some people out (so I've heard).