Leak and flow testing of plastic products in the production process

Causes of leaks are, for example, air inclusions, insufficient wall thickness, faulty seams, leaky injection points, incomplete welding or bonding or leaky material connections between metal and plastic.

When testing plastic products for leaks, some special features must be taken into account: Depending on the wall thickness, the products might expand when pressure is applied. Sometimes they are still warm when the test is carried out immediately after the thermoplastic manufacturing process. And of course the test should take place within one cycle of the production process.has more than 30 years of experience in industrial leak testing and flow measurement in the production line. Several thousand CETA test devices are in use worldwide. With a comprehensive range of test devices, the right technical solution can be found for practically any application.

The use of compressed air as a test medium is widespread. Depending on the application, CETA leak testers with gauge or differential pressure sensors are used. The leak tightness of large-volume test parts can be tested using leak testers with a calorimetric mass flow sensor. Very low leakage rates down to 10-6 mbar*l/s can be detected with hydrogen leak testers. The range of product volumes to be tested extends from 0.1 ml up to 1,000 l. Products whose flow is tested are, for example membranes, filters and cooling channels. With CETA flow testers, a range from 3 ml/min to 400 l/min can be covered using different laminar flow elements. The usual industrial interfaces are available for the test devices. These enable the transmission of the measurement results as well as the control and parameterisation of the test devices.

As a solution partner, CETA Testsysteme GmbH supports the customer in all phases of the practical implementation of his testing project: starting with product development, ensuring technical feasibility, selecting the appropriate testing technology, series production and subsequent process optimisations.

CETA Testsysteme will present practical solutions at the following trade fairs in the 4th quarter of 2022: The possibilities for integrating leak testing and flow testing into the assembly process will be presented at the MOTEK trade fair (04. – 07.10.2022, Stuttgart). Solutions for leak testing of plastic products will be presented at the world’s largest trade fair for the plastics and rubber industry, the K 2022 trade fair (19 – 26.10.2022, Düsseldorf). And at the world’s largest medical trade fair, Medica (14.11. – 17.11.2022, Düsseldorf), the focus will be on leak and flow testing of medical products.