Specialty vacuum equipment includes specialty or proprietary products and accessories related to vacuum pumps, lines, and processing. A vacuum pump is used to pump gasses out of an area, leaving a partial vacuum. There are seven main types of vacuum pumps. They are diaphragm, rocking-piston, reciprocating-piston, liquid-ring, rotary-screw, rotary-vane, and lobed-rotor vacuum pumps. Reciprocating piston, diaphragm, rocking-piston, and rotary-vane pumps can all reach up to 29 in Hg. Sometimes these need more than one chamber to achieve optimum vacuum rating. An oil vacuum pump has a longer lifespan, but is not environmentally friendly and is more expensive. A dry vacuum pump eliminates oil contamination and the need for fluids, traps, and filters. A dry vacuum pump has the disadvantages of low compression ratios, limited pump life, very high initial cost, and noise, but the gap between dry and oil pumps is getting smaller. Other types of specialty vacuum equipment are commonly available.

Specialty vacuum equipment is made in various sizes. The larger sizes are intended for continuous pumping. Smaller sizes may be more efficient, but can overheat easily if over-used. Specialty vacuum equipment such as a single stage vacuum pump has a large oil capacity and high reliability. An electrical vacuum pump is a vacuum pump designed to achieve better vacuum pressure than possible by use of mechanical pumps alone. A high vacuum pump is that regime of vacuum characterized by pressures lower than about 10-9 torr (0.1 mircopascal or 100 nanopascal). Typically, there is no single pump that can operate all the way from atmospheric pressure to the regime of ultra high vacuum. Instead, combinations of pumps are usually used as one switches over from one vacuum regime to another. There are several factors that go in selecting an appropriate commercial vacuum pump. The three main factors are the flow of air removal, the amount of vacuum produced, and the power that is required to do this. Vacuum pump repair affects the pressure, which the vacuum pump creates. Specialty vacuum equipment is designed and manufactured to meet most industry specifications.

Specialty vacuum equipment is used in many applications. Specialty vacuum equipment is used in industrial settings, scientific research, medical procedures, cars, airplanes, and machinery. Specialty vacuum equipment should adhere to American Vacuum Standards (AVS) standards.