Precision and expertise are everything when it comes to vacuum chamber manufacturing. That’s why, at GPR Company, we’ve spent over four decades refining our approach to building high-performance vacuum chambers for demanding industries like life science and semiconductor equipment manufacturing.
Our continuous investment in top-notch equipment and internal capabilities better positions us to deliver high-quality vacuum chamber solutions, on time and to our customers’ exact specifications.
Purpose-Driven Equipment Investments
At GPR, every new purchase is driven by a single purpose: to serve our customers better.
In June, we installed our 3rd HNK HB-130C boring mill, expanding our capacity for the production of vacuum chambers. We’ve had three of these machines in operation since 2002 and 2012, so the latest addition was seamlessly integrated into production, without any integration growing pains or learning curve for our team.
We have two Doosan HM 1250 machines, with one of them adding distinct capabilities. Both of our HM 1250s expanded our capacity with a large envelope that gives us access to otherwise unreachable part features and minimizes setup time. We also retrofitted one of our older machines with one of the largest 5th axes on the market to enable greater machining flexibility.
These seven-figure investments are driven by our customers’ needs, particularly in the vacuum chamber space and other custom manufacturing services.
Expertise in Weldments and Hog-Outs
Vacuum chamber manufacturing typically offers two categories of solutions: welded stainless steel chambers or aluminum hog-out chambers. GPR is proficient in both.
Stainless steel typically lends itself to weldments, which are assembled from multiple components and welded together due to material weight and machining time. Hog-outs, on the other hand, are machined from a single block of material, often aluminum. GPR can collaborate with customers to explore converting multi-piece designs into single-piece hog-outs, offering suggestions on how they can improve both performance and cost-efficiency.
Complex Features
Our team frequently machines intricate features into our custom vacuum chambers, including:
- Recessed water jacketing, which requires welding flat surfaces over internal cavities. This complex task requires tight tolerance control.
- Custom flanges and conflat flanges, commonly used for vacuum sealing.
- Process chamber solutions, which often combine tight geometric tolerances with the need for ultra-clean fabrication processes.
- Varying chamber sizes, with our largest currently measuring 4 feet by 4 feet by 6 feet.
Outside Processes with Trusted Partners
For vacuum chamber projects that require specialized finishing, GPR leverages trusted partners for processes such as electropolishing and plating. These partnerships are carefully vetted to meet the same high standards we apply internally, ensuring the final product performs in the harshest environments.
Decades of Experience, Backed by Sophisticated Technology
GPR’s vacuum chamber expertise comes from over 40 years of experience in building up our systems and people to handle complexity and precision. In all of our services, we have the right blend of human experience and machine capability to meet our customers’ evolving demands.
But we understand that the experience and expertise of our internal team isn’t always enough in complicated vacuum chamber manufacturing projects. That’s why we’ve engaged outside consultants to help us maintain ISO compliance and invested in data-driven tools like Datanomix for real-time machine analytics. Additionally, we are actively working to strengthen our data infrastructure to meet future CMMC requirements.
All that is to say, GPR is continuously improving and evolving to ensure we’re on the cutting edge of vacuum chamber manufacturing. Contact us today to learn how GPR’s investments in equipment, people, and procedures can add value to your next vacuum chamber project.