Product category:
Monitoring and sensor equipment and systems
News Release from: Intertech Development Company | Subject: M-1075-44 Leak Detector
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 18 June 2002
Low flow leak tester checks special
enclosures
A high-speed, low-flow leak testing instrument offers an economical air-based alternative to helium mass-spectrometer systems for QC testing of products having very low leak-rate tolerances.
A high-speed, low-flow leak testing instrument from InterTech Development Co (IDC) offers an economical air-based alternative to expensive, hard-to-maintain helium mass-spectrometer systems for QC testing of specialized products having very low leak-rate tolerances Designed primarily for validating enclosures that must reliably contain or exclude hazardous gases or liquids, IDC's M-1075-44 Leak Detector accommodates all applications where leak-rate limits are specified as low as 10-4 sccs (standard cubic centimeters per second), and production volumes may require testing of up to 7,000 parts per hour
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 1 Jul 2002 at 8.00am (UK)
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Approximately half the price of comparable helium testers, it also eliminates helium operating costs of 1-5 cents per test, and avoids the potential problem of some test-part materials absorbing helium.
Equipped to serve production-line 100%-test requirements either as a self-contained, single-station tester or integrated into automated assembly/test systems, the instrument can interface with a PLC or PC to receive downloads such as program modifications, or to share test data with other devices.
The M-1075-44 instrument applies IDC's patented mass-flow sensing technology, using a special low-flow transducer, thermally isolated air reservoir and lines connected to a test chamber, and precision test fixtures custom-built by IDC for the parts being tested.
Further reading
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Placed in its fixture within the test chamber, the test part is automatically pressurized at up to 100lb/in2 gauge.
Any air leaking from the test part into the chamber flows to the reservoir, crossing the instrument's low-flow transducer, which reads the flow as a direct, volumetric measurement of leakage.
This "downstream testing" technique yields an almost instantaneous single-point measurement, protects test results from being affected by line pressure variations, and needs no costly vacuum support equipment.
During the test process, a vacuum-fluorescent display on the unit's front panel reports test parameters, dynamic test results and final accept/reject status.
A lighted amber indicator shows when a test cycle is underway, a lighted green indicator confirms "accept", or a lighted red indicator signals "reject", so no operator judgement is required.
The M-1075-44 automatically stores 1,000 test records for display, printout or downloading to standard spread sheets.
Using IDC's proprietary S-3085 Windows-based software, it can perform statistical calculations on stored data to report Mean, Standard Deviation or Mean +/-3 Standard Deviations for Statistical Process Control (SPC) and other quality-management programs.
For multi-station test networks, a host computer using the same S-3085 software can monitor and control up to 34 M-1075-44 testers, continually harvesting their data and storing it by date to the host's hard disk in Microsoft Access database format, at 2 million test records for every 100 MB of free hard disk space.
The host computer then can recall stored data for CRT-screen viewing, either in total or using selection filters such as date, work shift, channel (test station), accept/reject results and causes of rejects (e g high or low pressure, gross leaks, restarts), and can perform and display the same statistical calculations available at the instrument.
About half the size of some earlier Mass-Flow Leak Detectors at 15.75in deep, 12.60in wide and 6.77in high (400 x 320 x 172mm), this instrument more easily accommodates space constraints of built-in applications, helping its system to occupy less floor space than typically needed for helium systems.
Test cycles are initiated by touching the amber "testing" indicator, or can be initiated by remote devices via rear-panel input/output connector.
Also provided on the rear panel are four 220V AC (60Hz) 1A relay outputs for Accept, Reject, Test-in-Progress and Trouble signals -- plus two independent RS232 ports for bi-directional computer interface, and a parallel printer port.
Test program parameters easily entered via front-panel 20-key touchpad include fill-bypass-stabilize-test cycle times, min/max pressure limits, upper and lower accept/reject setpoints, and calibration value.
Touchpad keys also initiate various other function and display modes, such as seal check, utility functions and self-diagnostics.
Menu selection allows switch to metric measurement units and switch from English-language display to German, French or Spanish.
For versatility and quick changeover, the instrument can store and recall up to 99 test programs.
Built-in diagnostics minimize set-up time and provide error codes that simplify troubleshooting down to the component level.
Optional temperature compensation is required for test limits less than 0.2 sccm.
NIST traceable calibration to less than 5% RandR is simple and automatic, initiated by a single touchpad keystroke, and using a front-panel plug-in calibration master.
Any or all test parameters and instrument functions can be password protected against unauthorized operator changes.
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