Pressure-tight vacuum chamber of an electron beam engraving machine for the acceptance of printing cylinders to be engraved, characterized by a lower part similar to a machine bed, by a vacuum hood placed pressure-tight on said lower part, said vacuum hood being fashioned as a barrel-like arch and being placed on a sealing lip surrounding said lower part at its edge, by a loading opening for said printing cylinders which is situated in the upper central region of said hood and extends in longitudinal direction of said hood, by a cover lowerable into said loading opening and sealable to said loading opening, and by lifting and conveying means situated at the face ends of said cover and of said loading opening, said cover being liftable out of its closed position therewith and being displaceable at the outer circumference of said hood in circumferential direction while releasing said opening in its open position and being returnable therewith from said open position over said opening and being lowerable into its closed position.