Assembly - April 2009 - (Page 40)

ASSEMBLY Leak Testing Leak Testing Auto Parts There’s no one-size-fits-all technology for leak-testing automotive assemblies. adiators, fuel tanks, mufflers, oil filters, air conditioners—the list of automotive assemblies that must be checked for leaks is endless. So, too, are the technologies for performing leak tests. Given the wide range of materials, test volumes and leak-rate specifications, there’s no one-size-fits-all technology for leak-testing auto parts. Nevertheless, all automotive parts—large or small, metal or plastic—share some common characteristics in terms of leak testing. For one, there’s the production rate. Some 10.8 million vehicles were assembled in the United States in 2007. That means at least 11 million coolant bottles, 43.2 million wheel rims and 60 million fuel injectors had to be tested for leaks before they were put into vehicles. “Rims have the highest throughput rate, with an average of one wheel in less than 10 seconds,” says Chris Goebel, director of sales and marketing at ULVAC Technologies Inc. (Methuen, MA). “Oil coolers, radiators, throttle body valve assemblies, brake lines, fuel lines and torque converters all need to be tested in less than 20 to 30 seconds per part.” Though challenging, such rates are more reasonable than, say, the rate for disposable medical devices, which R might have to be tested as quickly as one every 2 seconds, notes Jacques E. Hoffman, president of InterTech Development Co. (Skokie, IL). Better still, automotive assemblies are typically more expensive than medical disposables, so manufacturers can justify the cost of turnkey systems that can meet demanding requirements. Another challenge common to auto parts is that leak rate specifications have become much tighter during “Leak testers are process monitors, not rulers.”—Andrew Tapper, Forward Technology the past decade. State and federal standards restricting emissions of chlorofluorocarbons, exhaust and fuel vapors have forced automotive assemblers to radically tighten leak rate specifications for parts such as fuel tanks, fuel rails, brake lines, torque converters and air-conditioning compressors. “Before the Clean Air Act [of 1990], fuel tanks were never tested with helium,” says Chuck Wilkinson, corporate marketing director at VIC Leak Detection (Ronkonkoma, NY). A dunk test was sufficient. This need to “tighten up” certain automotive assemblies has created some Detecting leaks in fluid reservoirs like this one can be challenging because the plastic expands and contracts with positive or negative pressure. Photo courtesy ULVAC Technologies Inc. By John Sprovieri Editor 40 ASSEMBLY / April 2009 www.assemblymag.com http://www.assemblymag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Assembly - April 2009

Assembly - April 2009 Contents Editorial Automation Profiles New & Noteworthy Assembly Plant of the Year Down the Line Welding Beads Quality in Assembly Assembly Lines Assembly in Action Standard Helps Suppliers Take Flight Plastics Under the Hood Leak Testing Auto Parts Press for Success Products Advertisers Index Classified Leading Lean

Assembly - April 2009

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