High-temperature, high-pressure vacuum relay

A reinforcing sheath for a high-voltage relay switch, comprising:

• a substantially cylindrical adaptor sleeve with one or more openings in a wall of the sleeve, wherein a first end of the adaptor sleeve has a diameter sized to encircle at least a portion of the high-voltage relay switch and attach to a flange of the high-voltage relay switch;
• and
• a feed-through base, attached to a second end of the adaptor sleeve to enclose the second end of the adaptor sleeve, wherein the feed-through base includes:
• multiple holes through which conductors extend from inside the adaptor sleeve to outside the adaptor sleeve,
• multiple contacts, inside the adaptor sleeve, joining each conductor to one of multiple leads extending from the high-voltage relay switch, and
• multiple insulators, adjacent to each of the multiple holes, through which each conductor extends,
• wherein the reinforcing sheath, when attached to the flange, forms an envelope around the portion of the high-voltage relay switch, the multiple contacts, and the multiple leads, and
• wherein the envelope provides an area to encapsulate the portion of the relay switch, the multiple contacts, and the multiple leads in an epoxy resin within the envelope.

A method, comprising:

• providing a standard high-voltage relay switch for a desired voltage rating;
• replacing a coil assembly of the standard high-voltage relay switch with a high-temperature-resistant coil assembly;
• providing a reinforcing sheath assembly sized for the standard high-voltage relay switch;
• connecting leads from the standard high-voltage relay switch to contacts in the reinforcing sheath assembly;
• attaching the sheath assembly over a portion of the standard high-voltage relay switch to form an envelope between an interior of the sheath assembly and the high-temperature-resistant coil assembly;
• and
• injecting, through an aperture in the sheath assembly, a high-temperature-resistant, high-pressure-resistant epoxy resin to encapsulate the high-temperature-resistant coil assembly, the leads, and the contacts.