Leak Tester
Leak testing device for MAP
packages containing CO2

Non-destructive
testing
When
products are sealed with protective gas, it can happen that inpidual packages do
not seal absolutely
air tight. Usually these leaks are in the micro range,
and cannot be discovered immediately, or even at all,
using conventional
test procedures such as a water bath. With the new Leak Tester from Ridzewski
GmbH,
it is possible to check the tightness of the package
sealing immediately after the product has been packaged.
And this means for
both small and large packaging units, such as the contents of an E2 box. The
smallest leaks
are detected, and the packaging is left intact.
The
leakage test unit works automatically and non-destructively to inspect the
sealing on CO2 protective gas
packages, allowing the detection of even the
smallest leaks – all the way down to the micro range. A CO2
content of
approximately 5% in the package is enough to obtain reliable results
The
methodology and construction of the vacuum chamber make it possible to examine
both flexible and rigid
packages. For example, foods such as meat spreads,
cheese or sausages that are packed in protective gas
can be examined, as
well as cans or cartons containing products such as powdered milk.

Depending on the package size and the test
chamber being used, it is also possible to test the sealing on
several
packaging units or shipping cartons at one time, up to the size of an E2
box.

Procedure
The
packaging is inspected by simply placing it in the vacuum chamber. The automatic
test cycle starts when
the cover closes. The unit generates a user-defined
vacuum for this procedure and measures the CO2
content in the chamber. After
the vacuum level has been reached, the sensor is set to “virtual” zero. If
the
CO2 concentration rises during the measurement time that now starts and
that was previously selected by
the user, this indicates that the packaging
is faulty. The measured rise in the CO2 content, in ppm,
provides
information on the size of the area that is not tightly sealed. A
detected leak is reported to the user immediately,
and the test result is
displayed on an easy-to-read touch screen. The result is also stored in a
database.

Display, Operation and
Program
The leakage test unit has a touch screen for
easy operation. The special program provides an automatic test
sequence and
stores all test results in a format that can be processed, saved and printed out
with common
table calculation programs, such as Microsoft Excel.
The
printed results can be tacked on to the package as batch documentation, and
serve as proof in accordance
with ISO 9000.

Specification
_ Display: 15“ TFT with back light
_ User interface: Touch-Screen,
easy to handle software
_ Hardware: Panel-PC (also available with a
stainless steel housing)
_ Software: Software for machine control,
display and storage of test results
_ Measuring range: 1 - 10000 ppm
CO2
_ Underpressure in
mbar: 800 mbar
_ Response time: < 1 sec.
_ Calibration: No calibration
required
_ Power
supply: Depending on the chamber dimension: 220 or 380 VAC. Also available for
110 VAC or any other voltage
_ Fuse: 16 A

Dimensions
_ Device:
Depending on the chamber dimensions
_ Test chamber: The standard dimensions of the
chamber are 305x275x115mm
Other dimensions are also available. Please ask for
details.

Inline Leak
Tester
A fully automatic Inline
Leak Tester with conveyor belt was developed for testing during production.
Because
of the very short response time (< 1 sec.) and its compact,
modular construction, the Inline Leak Tester can
easily be integrated into
production lines with space restrictions, without interfering with the process
cycle
times. The unit is ideal for quality assurance. Because of the high
level of reproducibility for the measurement
values (+/- 3 ppm), it allows
reliable assurance of the required quality.

online Leak
Tester
This unit is attached to
the corresponding conveyor belt. Sporadic sealing tests, conducted at
pre-defined
time intervals, are also
possible..