Last week, I attended a half day Wilden Diaphragm Pump Seminar organized by Winston Engineering in Hyatt Hotel Johor Bahru. I like going to this type of seminar or training held in good 5 star hotels. Besides learning about the products and technologies, we were served with very nice yummy foods. It was a very informative and enriching seminar. Sometimes we can meet with colleagues from other companies and do some networking as well. OK, before I proceed, let me provide some basic information or definition of a diaphragm pump.
"Air operated pump that uses a flexible diaphragm to separate the pumping chambers. Handles high viscosity liquids or liquids with suspended solids"
(definition from bascousa.com).
"A diaphragm pump is a
positive displacement pump that uses a combination of the reciprocating action of a
rubber or
teflon diaphragm and suitable non-return
check valves to pump a
fluid. Sometimes this type of pump is also called membrane pump"
(definition from en.wikipedia.org).
Diaphragms inside a diaphragm pump which are from various sizes and materials (rubber, plastic, Teflon® PTFE etc....) 
Various types and sizes of metal diaphragm pumps which are from stainless steel, aluminium and alloy. There are also two types of join: bolted (stronger, tougher and can withstand higher pressure) and clamp (easy maintenance)
This is the demonstration set for the Wilden Pro-Flo X which is their latest diaphragm pump. The pump is capable to deliver similar flow with lesser air consumption which means we can save on our utility cost - the air. The comparison is made with the older version of Wilden's diaphragm pump.A little bit something about Mr Wilden...
It all started from a person named Jim Wilden who was working with a company manufacturing steel/metal back in the 1950s. He always faced a problem while pumping using an electric pump because his working area is always wet and can be dangerous with life electricity around. At the same time, there are plenty of air (compressed air) around his work place. So, he kept thinking how to overcome the problem his facing. Finally he invented the first air operated diaphragm pump. I hope that story is correct, because that was informed to us by Wilden's Asia Pacific Manager during the presentation introduction.
Jim Wilden pioneered a revolution, inspired a generation of innovation and created an entire industry. Wilden Pump & Engineering Company was founded in 1955 on the sketches of a unique but reliable, utilitarian pump, the air operated double-diaphragm pump. Today
Corporate ownership and "stand alone" local management provide Wilden with the clarity and focus needed to produce
quality products Wilden products are engineered to meet today's industrial and commercial demands.
Since 1955, Wilden has been the market leader in air-operated-double-diaphragm pumps. Wilden is deeply committed to the pursuit of excellence, customer satisfaction, research & development and market knowledge. As a premiere organization, Wilden has the infrastructure, knowledge base, and intellectual capital to exceed customer expectations worldwide.
For more complete and comprehensive information about Wilden pump, please check Windenpump.com.
Oh yea...Wilden also have diaphragm pump made of plastic. I'm not sure this pump is suitable for what industry?
This is Wilden's latest patented pump which can run without pumping fluid. Normally, pump will be damaged if they run empty, but this pump is not like that. Can you see the ping pong ball floating on top of the discharge line of the pump?
Hmmm....this are some of the lucky draw prizes that was awarded to me. I got a nice compact mini toolbox, a silver wrist watch, a name card book holder, 12 pieces of ball pens. As a participants, I also brought back a jersey type t-shirt (I got extra red t-shirt - they gave away another t-shirt for those 25 participants who came earliest) and a 3 ink coloured ball pen. I managed to request another set of bags come with goodies and freebies for my boss. It's really fun getting souverniers like this....