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I am referring below diagram where pump and valves are used to allow waste, diluent water control in biomedical instrument.

Diagram 1

Diagram 2

Diagram 3

But I am not able to get how single pump can have multiple port, I have seen pump with one suction inlet and one pressure outlet.

Can someone explain me how pumps here having different ports (P1,P2,P3,P4,P5,P6)? I am not asking for flow, because it's dependent on application and no one can tell me by just looking at above image. But my question is about multiple ports for pumps.

Thank you in advance.

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  • $\begingroup$ Could it be one pump with multiple (3) heads, so that you essentially have 3 independent pumps in one package? it would be easier to answer if you had the datasheet for the pump in question. $\endgroup$
    – am304
    Commented Apr 5, 2016 at 8:43
  • $\begingroup$ @am304 Thanks for commenting... actually I am doing reverse engineering and don't have datasheet for motor assembly. Can you suggest me any such datasheet which you mentioned? I want to know which fluid will pass through which tube since there are different fluid associated with different tubing's. :) $\endgroup$
    – Electroholic
    Commented Apr 5, 2016 at 8:50
  • $\begingroup$ I was thinking of something like this: coleparmer.co.uk/TechLibraryArticle/578. There's no way to tell which fluid goes where without having the datasheet of the pump used. $\endgroup$
    – am304
    Commented Apr 5, 2016 at 11:19

1 Answer 1

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My first guess for any medical pump is a peristaltic pump, as they can pump one fluid then another without contamination (by swapping lines).

Couple this with the fact that they can also be multi-channel pumps, and I'd almost guarantee that this is what it is. I've seen maybe one instance of non-peristaltic multiple pumps on one shaft (not counting turbo chargers and jet engines).

24 channel peristaltic pump

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  • $\begingroup$ Thanks Chuck. In my case, P3,P4 and P5 are IN ports where as P1,P6 are OUT ports. Does it means when IN port valve is open and fluid is flowing then it is flowing through P1, and P6 as well. ( in other words fluid is available at all out ports? ) $\endgroup$
    – Electroholic
    Commented Apr 7, 2016 at 10:31
  • $\begingroup$ @Electroholic - If it is a peristaltic pump, then no, the fluid would be entirely contained in one tygon/plastic tube (note that those are on your legend) and thus there's only one in/out pair per flow path. It looks to me that P2 might be open even though it says closed (because where else would the outlet air come from?) and I can't see what happens to the pink diluted waste after it enters. And actually, it looks like P4 could be that DW outlet - it's next to P3 (they're in pairs). Might just be that it wasn't colored or labeled. $\endgroup$
    – Chuck
    Commented Apr 7, 2016 at 10:54
  • $\begingroup$ @ Chuck I have added more images for understanding. Please check. Also one end of P1 is connected to AIR chamber, hence I think P2 is closed. And how to identify respective IN-OUT pair. PS: Sorry for poor understanding of flow diagram, but I have to understand things to go ahead :) $\endgroup$
    – Electroholic
    Commented Apr 7, 2016 at 11:09
  • $\begingroup$ Why vacuum is created? when we say vacuum pump, is it created in same tubing where earlier liquid/fluid was flowing and vacuum is created in tubing to avoid leftover particles from earlier fluid? Am I correct in consideration? $\endgroup$
    – Electroholic
    Commented Apr 7, 2016 at 11:29
  • $\begingroup$ @Electroholic - I would imagine the ports are paired by number; P1-P2, P3-P4, etc. As am304 mentions, it's not possible to say for sure where the flow is going without either having the physical unit or the datasheet. You said you were doing reverse engineering - can you take any pictures of the pump? Are there any manufacturer names, label plates, or model numbers? If you're trying to do reverse engineering with no part numbers at all with no physical product in hand, using only (poor) drawings, then I don't think you'll have much success. $\endgroup$
    – Chuck
    Commented Apr 7, 2016 at 13:04

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