The basic characteristics of the vacuum valve are that it has high air tightness (reliable sealing); the resistance to the airflow is as small as possible (that is, the flow conductance of the valve is as large as possible); the sealing parts have good wear resistance, can be used repeatedly, and have a long service life; Body material and seals have small air release; flexible operation. Easy to clean and install. Reliable performance and easy maintenance. In addition. For the ultra-high vacuum valve, it is also required to be able to withstand high temperature baking (450 ° C); for the throttle valve, it is required to be able to adjust the gas flow evenly.

Commonly used vacuum valve body materials are mainly metal and glass. Manual vacuum valve drive handwheel is made of high-strength plastic material. Glass vacuum piston is also known as "cock", which is generally used in glass vacuum systems, small vacuum devices, and vacuum gauges. or on the calibration system. The advantages are that it is easy to make, easy to use, easy to clean and observe, chemically stable and insulative, and less outgassing. The disadvantage is that the brittleness of the glass and the coating of grease at the piston bend limit its scope of use. Vacuum devices required for industrial production, such as vacuum coating equipment, vacuum smelting equipment, vacuum heat treatment equipment, space environment simulation Metal valves are used in equipment, rocket engine simulation equipment, satellite surface electrification simulation equipment, particle accelerators and controlled nuclear fusion devices, and heavy particle accelerators.

Vacuum valves usually use metal valves according to the working characteristics of the valve, transmission principle, devices and controlled nuclear fusion devices, heavy particle accelerators, etc.

The connection methods and uses are classified into the following categories:
①According to the working pressure: there are low vacuum valve, high vacuum door, ultra-high vacuum valve;
②According to the application: there are globe valve, isolation valve, charging (discharging) valve, throttle valve, reversing valve, closed feeding valve, etc.
③According to the transmission principle: there are manual valve, flashlight dual-purpose valve, solenoid valve, pneumatic valve, hydraulic vacuum valve;
④According to the material: there are glass vacuum piston (cock), metal vacuum valve;
⑤ According to the structural characteristics: there are flapper valve, flap valve, operating valve, ball valve, connecting rod valve, diaphragm valve, gate valve, two-way valve, three-way valve, four-way valve, straight-way valve, right-angle valve, etc.