Acoustic Equipment Research Utilizing a Vacuum Chamber

A hearing aid company designs, manufactures, and assembles sophisticated acoustic parts such as special microphones and speakers. In order to test the microphone and speakers which go into hearing aids, as well as fully assembled hearing aids, it is imperative to know at which point the failure happens. Does the failure happen due to elevation or due to improperly designed and built hardware or software?

To eliminate any acoustic sound entering the microphone or emitting from the speaker, a vacuum chamber is utilized. Sound does not travel in vacuum since sound is simply vibration of air molecules. By pulling the chamber down to a vacuum of less than 100 millitorr, any exposure to background sound sources is eliminated. The only thing that is left is sound generated from electrical sources such as improper circuit design or background radiation. This also helps to determine how sophisticated audio equipment interacts with wireless internet signals or cellphone signals. There are countless sources of noise or electrical feedback which can cause the hearing aid device to fail.

Fortunately Acrylic Vacuum Chambers that are clear and transparent will enable to acoustic development engineer to perform high integrity testing on hearing aid circuits and assemblies.

You are looking our custom made vacuum chamber, 12 inch cube, top load model with a spring supported lid. There is also a small through hole which was drilled to enable to experimenter to run wires from the outside to the inside. We were not able to use a vacuum feedthrough as the requirement was that we could not cut the testing wires because cutting the testing wires would create electrical noise and interference. At this point, the experimenter will plate a Buna-N film, over the hole, then she will run the electrical wire through the Buna-N hole and through the hole drilled into the side wall of chamber.

Did it work? Yes, we were able to get a good seal and pull the vacuum down to less than 0.1 Torr. Sometimes additional Vacuum Grease was used to seal some leakers. The experimenter was able to go down to specified 0.075 Torr and stay at that level for some time in order to complete their analysis.

Are you conducting tests on high performance acoustic and electrical circuits. Contact Us to see how we can make your experiments better.

Did you know that we carry a many more products?

We are an Engineering Excellence Company. Check out some of our other items we carry that you can combine/integrate with your systems or projects.

Force Decay Leak Testing Systems
Force Decay Leak Testing Systems are instruments that detect and quantify leaks in a test specimen through measuring the drop in force an inflated specimen applied onto a pressure transducer. The specimen is placed into a vacuum chamber, a vacuum is pulled, and the test sample inflates. As the test sample inflates, it applied a specific force onto the force transducer. This force is measured and recorded over time. If a leak exists, the specimen will deflate and lose pressure, as a result, the force it applies onto the force transducer will decrease. This in turn will enable for detection and quantification of a leak in the specimen.
D-SUB Vacuum Feedthroughs
D-Sub Vacuum Feedthroughs are universal connectors that enable you to connect from the outside towards the inside of your vacuum chamber. We carry a large list of D-subminiature connectors for your vacuum applications such as the 9 pin, 15 pin, 25 pin, 37 pin, and 50 pin or a combination of any described.
Our Work: Pressure and Vacuum Chamber used for Calibration of Weather Stations across the US
Have you ever wondered how the weather forecast works? You must admit; the weathermen (or weatherwoman) have become a whole lot more accurate over time. 10 years ago, the weather forecast was not as accurate as it is today. Part of the reason is that we have better forecasting technology as in more powerful computers who crunch numbers faster to out a most likely scenario. Another reason is that mathematics, physics, and science has progressed. The main reason however, is that we have better tools and equipment.
Related Articles: Piston Vacuum Pump: The Ultimate Guide to WOB-L and ROC-R Vacuum Pumps
This article is intended to be the Definitive Resource when it comes to Piston Vacuum Pumps. We know a thing or two about vacuum pumps because we work with them every day. In this article we will specifically talk about Piston Vacuum Pumps – the WOB-L and the ROC-R to be exact.