A vacuum can be created by merely expanding a volume. For example, the diaphragm muscle contracts, expanding the lungs, reducing pressure so that air at atmospheric pressure is pushed in. A vacuum forming machine cleaner reduces pressure by rotating brushes, to push air out through an exhaust vent.Lower pressures require more sophisticated approaches, for example high-speed fans arranged in serial or repeated pumping. Complicating issues include seal integrity, lubricant contamination, and even release of water and gas trapped within the metal of the chamber walls, called out-gassing. All vacuum systems need valves of various types for the pumping process. The main kinds of vacuum valves are stopcock/ball, flap/gate, and diaphragm valves.

There are numerous types of pumps used for creation of vacuums.A rotary vane pump consists of spring-loaded vanes rotated in a cavity with an inlet and outlet. The two chambers created by the vanes expand to let in gas from the vacuum chamber, then contract when forcing the gas out (see diagram).A roots blower also uses the approach of varying chamber volumes but the rotary vanes are rigid. Two meshing vanes take in gas on one side and force it out on the opposite side.A diffusion pump uses a high-speed stream of vapor to force gas out of the vacuum chamber. The high momentum of the vapor is partly transferred to the gas, and both exit the chamber through the exhaust instead of diffusing within the chamber.

In an ion-pump, a cloud of electrons is maintained in a magnetic field. Gas molecules are ionized by the electron cloud, then directed toward an electrode by an electric field. With the molecules confined to the electrode, the gas pressure in the vessel has been effectively reduced.A cryopump create a vacuum by condensing gases on a cold surface.A bomolecular pump uses a sequence of rotors to accelerate gas toward an exhaust. Like the diffusion pump, evacuation is by momentum transfer. Outgassingï¼Å'The walls of the vacuum chamber can themselves become a source of contaminating gas. The rate of such contamination increases as pressure decreases.

Permeation from the outside, diffusion of gas locked within the wall, desorption, and vaporization are all source of gas from container walls.Vaporization is the evaporation of the wall material. Even metals have a non-zero vapor pressure, the point of equilibrium at which the rate of evaporation balances the rate of condensation. When pressure drops below this vapor pressure, vaporization of metal into the vacuum can occur.To reduce desorption of matter from the wall's surface, the vessel may be pre-heated, to boil off such contaminants. Because of possible out-gassing from elastic materials, ultra-high vacuum systems use all-metal valves. Metal-to-metal valves require great pressure to make a tight closure. In such cases, a seal can be made with liquid metal, melting it and allowing it to solidify.

vacuum forming machine valves and seals in general operate in a similar fashion, forcing together cup sealing machine elements by external force. For example, a flap valve would open only one way, outward away from the vacuum toward a higher-pressure volume. Therefore, the higher pressure would press the valve closed, keeping gas from escaping into the vacuum. The flap valve would enable evacuation however, when the outer chamber pressure is made lower than the vacuum chamber's.A flap valve may be made more air-tight by lining the valve with grease or a deformable O-ring seal, to account for irregularities in the valve surface.