Holding a baseline pressure

Hello,

New here and I apologize if this is a dumb question but I am working with an air pump for the first time and had some questions. It is a simple DC diaphragm pump that works with a solenoid valve to create suction. The valve releases the pressure back to 0 between cycles. I am still in the early stages of exploration and I am just wondering if it is possible to control the solenoid with the PCB so that rather than letting the pressure fall to 0, instead falls to around 50mmHg and recloses.

Any other suggestions for holding a baseline pressure would be appreciated. Or just any resources or breadcrumbs for me to look into would be great too.

Have you talked to the manufacturers?

Yes had same questions.

A simple diaphragm pump works as you described - on it pumps and off it stops.

You need to design a system that functions as desired. You probably need a one-way check valve, then a A/D (Analog - Digital) pressure switch that a computer can read and a D-A (Digital - Analog) switch to control the pump.

Thanks for the response Kelly. Would the solenoid valve work as the check valve? I looked into some pressure switches but they are all too expensive for our budget on this product. It is a cheap consumer good product so expensive sensors would raise cost out of scope. If you know of cheaper ones, could you provide any links?

I was hoping we could just do it with a cheap motor sensor and then just cut the solenoid valve off quicker, before it returns pressure to 0. Not sure if it is possible yet though.