Current Scroll Pump Specs
Edwards Pumps
In general, Edwards pumps should have new tip seals replaced every couple of years or when the pump no longer reaches the desired pressure. There is an tip seal replacement box in the Bat Cave. It also has an annotated paper manual to use during tip seal replacement.
Gauss
Purchased: 01/2015
Model: nXDS6i
Currently used on Echo
Date | Maintenance performed | Ultimate pressure after maintenance (mTorr) |
01/2015 | Tip seals initially broken in |
|
02/02/2016 | Tip seal and O-ring replacement | 4.7 |
09/04/2018 | Tip seal and O-ring replacement. Pre-replacement ultimate pressure ~40 mTorr | 2.8 |
12/13/2018 | Tip seal and O-ring replacement. Pre-replacement ultimate pressure ~40 mTorr after 20 min, also clicky and loud | 5.6 (reached 40 mTorr after 20 seconds), very quiet |
03/03/2021 | Failed on Bravo LC after brownout in 2020. Replaced tip seals and O ring. | 19 after 20 minutes |
09/21/2022 | Tip seal and O-ring replacement. | ~1 after pumping overnight |
Euler
Purchased: 01/2015
Model: nXDS6i
"Oily" pump. Has been used on bellows that originally had an oil pump in the FTIR lab. This pump is still okay for pumping on the MBE, but just keep in mind that this pump is not as clean as the other Edwards pumps.
Date | Maintenance performed | Ultimate pressure after maintenance (mTorr) |
03/2015 | Tip seals initially broken in. Used in FTIR lab for Elodie from Harvard |
|
02/05/2016 | Tip seal and O-ring inspection, b/c pressure started to creep up. All parts look okay, so no parts were replaced. | 7.2 |
02/27/2019 | Tip seal and O-ring replacement. Started to get hot and a little loud | 10.0 |
08/29/2019 | Tip seal and O-ring replacement. Started to get hot and a little loud. Still hot and loud after maintenance, may require bearing replacement soon | 5.3 |
Newton
Purchased: 01/2015
Model: nXDS6i
Currently used on Bravo
Date | Maintenance performed | Ultimate pressure after maintenance (mTorr) |
01/2015 | Purchased and tip seals originally broken in and tested 02/2015 |
|
01/2021 | Tip seals and O ring replaced after ultimate pressure 30 Torr when pump failed mid-LC bake (possible brown out) | 5.4 mTorr after overnight tip seal break in |
09/2023 | Tip seals and O ring replaced | 2.0 mTorr after weekend tip seal break in |
von Neumann
Purchased: 01/2015
Model: nXDS15i
Originally used in FTIR lab for pumping on the FTIR spectrometer box using a silencer exhaust unit because there is not an exhaust line in the FTIR lab
Date | Maintenance performed | Ultimate pressure after maintenance (mTorr) |
01/2015 | Tip seals initially broken in |
|
04/19/2017 | Tip seal replacement because starting to sound loud. Noise still persists but the on-board logic does not indicate time for bearing replacement | 4.7 |
06/20/2018 | Late-fall 2017, became very loud, suggesting bearing failure. Bearings and tip seals replaced during April and May 2018. Post-replacement noise was gone. | 2.7 |
03/03/2021 | Started to fail on Echo load chamber in early 2021. Tip seals replaced and runs normally. | 7.7 after 10 minutes |
12/2023 | Started to fail on Echo load chamber in late 2023. Tip seals replaced and runs normally. | 1.5 after overnight |
Cauchy
Purchased: 07/2020
Model: nXDS6i
Date | Maintenance performed | Ultimate pressure after maintenance (mTorr) |
01/2021 | Tip seals initially broken in. Used for Bravo LC turbo | 12.2 mTorr after overnight tip seal break in |
10/2022 | Pressure was rising --> Tip seals and O-ring replaced | 47.2 mTorr after pumping over the weekend |
03/2023 | Previous issues were due to standby mode. Deactivated standby and left to pump | 8 mTorr after pumping over the weekend |
Haynes
Purchased: 09/2021
Model: nXDS6i
Date | Maintenance performed | Ultimate pressure after maintenance (mTorr) |
09/2021 | Purchased and tip seals originally broken in and tested 09/2021 | 16 mTorr after 2 days |
Bartlett
Purchased: 06/204
Model: nXDS6
Date | Maintenance performed | Ultimate pressure after maintenance (mTorr) |
12/16/2025 | Tip seals initially broken in and tested | 12 mTorr after pumping overnight |
Varian Pumps
Factory Specifications for Agilent/Varian 300 Series TriScroll Pumps
Use these specs following a maintenance to verify proper pump operation and optimal performance.
Ultimate Pressure: <= 10 mTorr
Faceplate Temperature: <= 131 F
Sounds: Quiet whirring (as quiet as possible)
Zeus
Working and suitable for backup use
Date | Maintenance performed | Faceplate temp. after running for 2 weeks (degF) | Ultimate pressure after maintenance (mTorr) |
07/2015 | Tip seal replacement and new fan krytox | 120 | 4.3 |
06/2021 | Tip seal replacement and krytox applied to o-rings | ? | 65 |
Apollo
Working and suitable for backup use
Date | Maintenance performed | Faceplate temp. after running for 2 weeks (degF) | Ultimate pressure after maintenance (mTorr) |
06/2013 | Pump originally bought and broken in "new pump" | ? | ? |
02/2014 | Tip seal replacement and new fan krytox - DJI and SDM. Quite whirring after replacement | 110 | 5 |
Poseidon
Working but noises indicate bearing failure, so use for high pressure operations (>100 mTorr, i.e. don't back a turbo with it) and for short periods (~1-2 days)
Bearing failure sounds increased dramatically when used on Tetra, use with caution - AMG 06/2021
Date | Maintenance performed | Faceplate temp. after running for 2 weeks (degF) | Ultimate pressure after maintenance (mTorr) |
02/2014 | Tip seal replacement and new fan krytox - | ? | ? |
LASE Group 300 Series TriScroll Pump Performance Specs
"The New Scroll" : Currently on BOS 2.0
Ultimate Pressure: 5 mTorr
Faceplate Temperature: 110 F
Sounds: Quite whirring
Last Tip Seal replacement: 02/2014 (good for awhile)
"The Refurbished Scroll" : Currently backing the tubro pump on System Bravo
Ultimate Pressure: 5 mTorr
Faceplate Temperature: 110 F
Sounds: Whirring (slightly louder than the new scroll pump)
Last Tip Seal replacement: 01/2014 (good till 08/2014)
"The Old Echo Scroll" (aka the good scroll): Currently backing the tubro pump on System Echo
Ultimate Pressure: 13 mTorr (this is above spec, even with new tip seals, likely the scroll pump motor is not getting up to spec torque)
Faceplate Temperature: 110 F
Sounds: Noticable whirring
Last Tip Seal replacement: 07/2013 (good till 07/2014)
Other Notes: This pump can be used as a backing pump for a turbo pump when necessary
"The Noisy BOS Scroll" : Currently unemployed, scheduled for swap
Ultimate Pressure: 7 mTorr
Faceplate Temperature: 125 F (after bearing regreasing, prior faceplate temp was 141 F)
Sounds: Noticable whirring, plus bearing grinding noises while pumping on air
Last Tip Seal replacement: 02/2013
Other Notes: This pump SHOULD NOT (sorry for the CAPS) be used as a backing pump for any turbo pump as its worn bearings makes it a good candidate for failure in long-term use; use only for rough to UHV crossovers