FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, New from VacGen and Nor-Cal Products,
September 2003

Fast Throttling Gate Valves for Vacuum Pressure Control and Leak Tight Sealing

VacGen and Nor-Cal have jointly introduced their new SoftShut™ throttling gate valves with Intellisys™ control, providing fast and accurate pressure control with leak tight sealing over a broad pressure range. Nor-Cal's Intellisys controller uses an advanced adaptive algorithm that virtually eliminates pressure overshoot or gradual ramps during pressure transitions. Thermo Electrons SoftShut™ throttling gate valves use 6 million position steps to accurately throttle, and unlike other throttle valves, they effectively control pressure even when the valve is almost completely closed. Together these products provide sealing and excellent pressure control over a wide conductance range spanning from high vacuum to rough vacuum pressures such as 10 Torr (13 mbar). This eliminates the need for additional control valves or vacuum lines, saving space and cost.

SoftShut throttling gate valves fully open or close in only 1 to 3 seconds depending on the valve size, and feature the same flange-to-flange dimensions as other leading brands of gate valves. Furthermore, the controller and valves are plug and play compatible with many other throttling gate or pendulum valves. The Intellisys controller provides ±15V power outputs for two vacuum gauges, including heated capacitance manometers (up to 800 mA per gauge), and has separate 0-10V pressure proportional inputs and outputs for each gauge. Remote communication is available for DeviceNet™, RS232, RS485, analog, and other interfaces.

Thermo VG's SoftShut valves are used from less than 7.5 x 10^-8 Torr (1 x 10^-9 mbar) to atmosphere, and are available in 6 sizes from 2½" (63 mm) to 10" (250 mm) I.D. with all common flanges. The valves are stainless steel, available with heaters for the body and gate, and vacuum ports for gauges or roughing lines. Nor-Cal's Intellisys controllers are available with or without pressure displays, and as OEM buried boxes. The products come with a 2 year warranty. See www.softshut.com for valve details.

Founded in 1964 in England, VacGen is a leading manufacturer of ultrahigh vacuum components, serving a variety of markets including physics research, universities, semiconductor manufacturing, and general vacuum. Since 1996 the company has been part of Thermo Electron, a $2.2B publicly held U.S. based firm (symbol TMO) with operations worldwide.

Nor-Cal Products, with facilities in Yreka and San Diego, California is a leading supplier of vacuum equipment to the semiconductor, compound semiconductor, thin film coating and UHV research markets. Since 1962, Nor-Cal has established itself as a world-class supplier of vacuum components and pressure control systems.

Company Contact Information

VacGen
Editorial and Reader Contact: Richard Stratford
355 River Oaks Parkway
San Jose, CA 95134
Phone: 408-965-6523
> Fax: 408-965-6141
E-mail: richard.stratford@vgscienta.com
Web Address: www.softshut.com

Nor-Cal Products Inc.
Tim Nilsson
Nor-Cal Products, Inc
Phone: +01 530-841-9123
E-mail: timnilsson@n-c.com
Web Address: www.n-c.com