Vacuum chamber assembly for supporting a workpiece

A chamber assembly for providing a sealed chamber adjacent to a workpiece, the chamber assembly being substantially surrounded by an environment that is at an environmental pressure, the chamber assembly comprising:

• a chamber housing;
• a seal assembly that seals the chamber housing to the workpiece to form the sealed chamber;
• and
• a pressure source in fluid communication with the sealed chamber for controlling a chamber pressure within the sealed chamber so that the chamber pressure is lower than the environmental pressure, the pressure source directing a relatively large enough amount of fluid through a relatively large fluid passageway to control the chamber pressure adjacent to the workpiece.

A chamber assembly for providing a sealed chamber adjacent to a workpiece, the chamber assembly comprising:

• a chamber housing positioned adjacent to the workpiece;
• a seal assembly that seals the chamber housing to the workpiece to create the sealed chamber between the chamber housing the workpiece;
• and
• a transducer assembly in fluid communication with the sealed chamber, the transducer assembly expanding or contracting as needed to compensate for pressure variations in the sealed chamber due to leaks or injections, thereby stabilizing the pressure in the sealed chamber.