When it comes to NDT testing of various kinds, the types of components that you use to create the test circuits always have impact on the capability of your testing solution.
Originally published in European Medical Device Technology, April 2012:
When it comes to NDT testing of various kinds, the types of components that you use to create the test circuits always have impact on the capability of your testing solution.
For example, in leak testing, choosing the right-sized valves and sensors for your test equipment can make or break the success of your test solution. There are some general rules that most appreciate. For example, if you are seeking leak detection equipment to test large volume products such as urostomy bags the selection of valves and ports you would choose from would be similarly large to enable you to pressurize parts quickly and decrease the overall test cycle time.
However, there is actually far more nuance in designing optimal test circuits for nearly all medical device leak test applications. Breakthrough concurrent 8-sensor leak test technology now enables the test system to be totally customized; pneumatic controls, valves, tubing, data management and more can be tailored to suit production and quality needs instead of fitting your needs around an off-the-peg solution. For example, you begin with the assumption that no bespoke test solution will necessarily be optimized for throughput and accuracy at the required gauge capability.
You need skill and experience knowing how to combine the leak tester components to achieve these optimal solutions. Manufacturing engineers are best-served by consulting with test specialists on exactly how a test system can be designed to suit their quality and production needs. Why not? These types of applications engineering services that fit the leak detectors to the customer and not the other way around are free and usually have a turnaround of 48 hours!
Much as any skilled medical device design engineer knows which subassemblies require rigidity or flexibility or some midpoint in those extremes, a testing specialist has a thorough knowledgebase of what can “give” in any leak detection test solution without in any way compromising outcomes and reliability of test results. Similarly any manufacturing engineer knows how and where to invest in robotics for ultimate throughput advantages and where capital equipment costs can be shaved. Give testing specialists their due to help you find that optimal solution. This has never been more important, given the availability of an entirely new generation of leak detectors designed for versatility. That “versatility” is realized in large part by the input of qualified testing specialists to choose all components, large and small, in the test circuit and controls design.
---Dave Selin, European Sales Manager, USON (www.uson.com)