When most people think of leak testing, one childhood event probably comes to mind: Submerging a filled bicycle inner tube in a sink full of water, hoping to find the exact leak location by following a trail of air bubbles.
Catheters, pacemakers, ventilators and dialysis filters are vastly different products. But, they all have one thing in common: they must be checked for leaks, whether into, or out of, an assembly.
For 50 years, progressive-die-stamping specialist Trans-Matic Manufacturing Inc. (TMMI) has stayed focused on producing affordable, high-quality parts for its thousands of customers.
Since 2008, 28 million cars have been recalled in the United States because they contained air bags that could explode and hurl shrapnel into drivers during even minor fender benders. Ten deaths and more than 100 injuries have been linked to the faulty air bags.
In the past, automobile manufacturers only required basic forms of leak testing to check standard subassemblies, such as, air conditioning, power train and cooling system components. Traditional hard-vacuum and accumulation methods were—and still are—used to test components such as radiators, evaporators, condensers, air-conditioner hoses, torque converters and valve bodies.
Whether or not Earth is the only planet able to support life is debatable. What is undeniable, however, is that the planets of our solar system are not the only things that orbit the sun.
If someone tells you his leak test system is superior because of its control software, kick the tires, so to speak. In many, if not most, applications, it is the hardware, not the software, that makes or breaks the ability to get high throughput without compromising gauge R&R.