This application note covers LACO’s proprietary Micro Tube Capillary leak standards.
LACO Technologies has been manufacturing gas leak standards since the 1990s with great success and has recently undergone a rigorous validation process to verify the reliability and performance of the Micro Tube Capillary (MTC) leak standard.
LACO Technologies is excited to present to our customers the results of our validation study and introduce our Micro Tube Capillary leak standard. The MTC leak standard has been tested and validated over an extensive time period and multiple environments to ensure high reliability of the leak standard in extreme manufacturing environments. The MTC leak standard uses a proprietary process to create a leak-tight seal around a capillary tube. The leak element seal for most leak standard design is all metal and elastomers are not used in the seal. The leak standard is designed to be resistant to shock, vibration and plugging due to particulate contamination. Unlike metal crimped capillary leak elements, the MTC design does not have induced stresses or the potential for corrosion or creep. This means your leak standard remains accurate over extended time periods even if it experiences harsh environments.
Testing and validation were performed to determine long term reliability and repeatability of the Micro Tube Capillary leak standard. LACO’s test and validation protocols included a wide range of exposure environments by using both internal resources and outside independent testing labs.
The MTC design was exposed to the following environments:
Before and after each exposure, the leak rate was measured to determine the effect of the exposure. The sample of leak standards used in this study experience no failures due to either plugging or variations in leak rate values. Based on the results of this validation, LACO is confident that the materials, design and manufacturing techniques employed produces a repeatable product that is extremely reliable in the harshest environments and over long time periods.
The Micro Tube Capillary leak standard design is both a robust and a highly reliable leak standard. In addition, this leak standard design features:
| LEAK ELEMENT COMPARISON | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LEAK ELEMENT | GASES | LEAK RATE | TEMP COEF. | CLOGGING | VACUUM RESPONSE | STABILITY | DURABILITY | PRESSURE RESPONSE |
| Glass Permeation | Helium Only | 10-7 – 10-10 | 4% per °C | None | Fair | Excellent | Breakable | Fair |
| Teflon Permeation | Helium Only | 10-4 – 10-8 | 2% per °C | None | Fair | Fair | Unbreakable | Fair |
| Metal Capillary | All Gases | 10-1 – 10-6 | 0.2% per °C | Frequent | Excellent | Varies | Unbreakable | Excellent |
| Micro Tube Capillary | All Gases | 10-1 – 10-9 | 0.1% per °C | Very Rare | Excellent | Excellent | Unbreakable | Excellent |
Characteristic Explanations
LACO’s manufacturing process and product design have been validated to ensure consistency and stability of the Micro Tube Capillary leak standard. Call LACO’s sales team to learn if the Micro Tube Capillary leak standard is right for your application.
