INFICON Teams With LeakMaster To Develop New Fuel-Filler Test System

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Oct 19, 2016, 11:28 ET

DETROIT, Oct. 19, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- More and more new-model cars and light trucks are being equipped with capless fuel fillers that require new final assembly-line quality checks.

LeakMaster of Evansville, Indiana, has worked with INFICON, a leading provider of leak-detection equipment for the auto industry, to develop a system that accurately tests filler pipes quickly and efficiently, while at the same time using much lower concentrations of tracer gas than more expensive vacuum-chamber systems.

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The move to capless fuel fillers has been driven by the auto industry's need to meet stricter LEV II clean air regulations for passenger cars and light trucks that go into effect in 2017.

In the new LeakMaster system, a technician places the filler pipe into a test station. Position sensors then automatically guide connections to the component.

Pressurized helium gas is pumped into the test piece and an INFICON T-Guard sensor is used to test for leaks by measuring gas that escapes into a two-foot by five-foot test chamber. The cycle time for each test is 40 seconds or less.

"The LeakMaster's test system is completely automated and provides cycle times and reliability equal to more elaborate vacuum-chamber testing at half the cost," notes Thomas Parker, INFICON's automotive sales manager for North America. "The smaller size of the system's test chamber also reduces the amount of pressure and helium required for each test."

As LeakMaster's partner in the development of the new fuel-filler-pipe test system, INFICON provided input on tracer gas and tracer-gas accumulation in leak testing to LeakMaster system designers. INFICON application experts also provided additional detailed machine design assistance for the testing station.

"We determined that a vacuum system would have been much more expensive in terms of procurement costs alone, and this filler-tube test-system solution also provides some added savings in energy consumption and cost-of-machine ownership," said Barry Money, president of LeakMaster.

INFICON T-Guard tracer-gas leak detectors currently are used to test a wide variety of automotive components ranging from fuel injectors, fuel fillers and heat exchangers each year. More than 50 million leak tests with T-Guard systems are performed annually on fuel injectors by auto makers and their suppliers alone.

ABOUT INFICON
INFICON is one of the world's leading developers, producers and suppliers of instruments and devices for leak detection in air conditioning, refrigeration and automotive manufacturing. The company has manufacturing facilities in Europe, China and the United States, as well as sales and service offices throughout the world. More information about INFICON automotive technology is available online at www.inficonautomotive.com

INFICON's new 51-page book on "Leak Testing in the Automotive Industry" is available at www.inficon.com/automotiveindustry-ebook and is free of charge. Additional information about the company's automotive technology can be found at www.inficonautomotive.com.

ABOUT LEAKMASTER
LeakMaster is considered an industry leader in providing non-destructive leak testing equipment to the global marketplace. LeakMaster has built its reputation on innovating the industry's fastest, most repeatable, and cost effective leak testing equipment. It's a well-deserved reputation they pledge to maintain by continuing to provide innovative leak testing solutions. To learn more about our products and services, you can visit us at www.leakmasterusa.com.

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SOURCE INFICON