The basic goal of the Multiplexer-Instrument Housing designs is to cost-effectively increase the number of CF ports available to interface the vacuum system.
Kimball Physics multiplexers have evolved since their original introduction (not patented) in 1983, to now include:
- Rigid unitary stainless steel 316L precision CNC construction with reduction in the number of welds from eight to only one (the rotatable flange)
- Ability to use arbitrary bolt lengths (two sets of bolt holes, either threaded or clear provide user flexibility in the mode of attachment)
- Inclusion of internal mounting annular grooves (Grabber Grooves) on the 2.75” CF port for internal mounting capability
- Better ultra-high vacuum (UHV) cleanliness
The bolt ring is confined such that it cannot slide axially back from the sealing surface. Thus, the 2.75” CF sealing surface is not exposed to potential damage (as is the normal with ordinary rotatable flanges). These design features are included in all our multiplexer designs.
Useable interior space has been greatly increased over previous designs. Each 2.75” CF sealing surface has one pair of Grabber Grooves for internal mounting capability.
Our most recent design, the MCF275-FlgMplxr-Cr1X5, includes a rotatable 2.75” CF (C) base port, with five (5) secondary sub-mini 0.95” CF ports to enable an increase from one to five ports. The 0.95” CF (X) ports are compatible with Kimball Physics Sub-Miniature Feedthroughs and Viewports.
Our other MCFTM multiplexers are based on a 2.75” (C) CF rotatable base that then may include various combinations of additional 2.75” CF ports and multiple 1.33” (A) CF secondary ports.
The 2.75” CF ports will also have internal mounting channels or grabber grooves that enable use of our extensive system for internal mounting of your apparatus, device or interfacing to our eV Part System that provides a diverse toolkit for concept prototyping and making custom mounting fixtures for your devices.
In the tables below, we provide more details about our various flange multiplexer components.
To Learn More about our Multiplexer products, please refer to our Flange Multiplexer Overview document (PDF).
