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Fineline Designs specializes in custom design and build of machines for a wide variety of customer applications.

 

Leak Test

 

Fineline Designs is an experienced supplier of leak test machines.  Each of our machines are custom engineered to our customer's application, providing maximum repeatability at a minimum of cycle time.

 

We can provide Single, Dual, or Multiple networked test stations, and we can easily design a system to fit seamlessly into any production line control network.  We  work with your Engineering, Quality,  and I/T personnel to provide a solution that is safe, easy to maintain, and will provide the result data you need to help control your production process effectively.  And since time is money, our engineering staff is always conscious of designing machines to provide maximum throughput of parts.

 

In addition to the leak test equipment itself, Fineline can provide a complete "work cell" solution, including Robots and Conveyors for part transfer, Dial machines, part accept and reject marking, and Manual and Automated Assembly stations.

Underwater Visual Leak Test

In addition to standard Leak Test Machines, Fineline Designs can provide the additional functionality of part submersion, adding the following features:

  • Underwater Inspection for Qualitative Analysis – Identification of Leak Location. The four sides of the underwater viewing area are built of Lexan, and are designed to provide the maximum possible visibility of the test part.
  • Bubble tubes for identification / verification of leaks across internal walls.
  • Leak Recording Software – Leak locations are recorded on actual digital photos of the part being tested. Records are stored and retrievable by part serial number. Side and overhead lighting.
  • A vacuum system to remove excess water from the part.
  • A water filtration system.

Our submersible test systems have been used successfully on such parts as Cylinder Heads and Engine Blocks, and have been configured as part of production leak test machines as well as a stand alone off-line test station.

Flow Test

 

Fineline Designs has engineered numerous Flow Test Machine designs, utilizing a variety of test methods, each one tailored to the specific application.  Our expertise allows us to determine the best possible combination of control hardware / sensors, in order to achieve maximum repeatability and resolution.

 

Typical applications of our Flow Test machines include:

  • Mass Flow Test for Leak Detection - In some cases, utilizing a mass flow test circuit provides greater sensitivity and lower cycle times than a standard pressure decay leak test.  Our engineering team can quickly determine the proper test method for a particular part application.

  • High Volume Flow Test - Our design team has produced a number of successful Flow Test machines for detection of small blockages in air flow paths within parts.  Typical examples include Cylinder Heads, Intake Manifolds, and Exhaust Manifolds.

Interchange Platform Series

 

In many cases, Fineline can provide a cost effective solution to customers who need the capability to test a variety of similar parts without the expense of multiple dedicated machines.  Our Interchange Platform machines are designed to have easily interchangeable fixtures.  Simply unbolt the upper and lower fixtures, remove from the keyways, and bolt in an alternate fixture.  From our easy to use test panel software, simply recall a configuration set for the new part, and your ready to start testing.

 

Our machine designs have been successfully used to test such parts as:

  • Cylinder Heads

  • Engine Blocks

  • Intake Manifolds (Aluminum and Plastic)

  • Exhaust Manifolds

  • Transmission Housings and Covers

Working with our customers, our engineering design team will tailor the machine configuration to match the production requirements, and may include testing:

  • Individual Parts

  • Multiple Identical Parts (concurrently or sequentially)

  • Multiple Different Parts (concurrently or sequentially).

Functional Testing

 

In addition to simply leak or flow testing parts, Fineline can provide functional testing of parts to verify proper operation.  The goal of our engineering staff is to design machine functionality that will provide our customers with the tools necessary to identify proper operation of their parts.  In many cases, our customers have used our machine capability and engineering experience to help develop their own product specifications.

 

Typical examples of our functional test systems include:

  • High Speed Response Tests - These machines utilize high performance data acquisition hardware to capture and graphically display signals from sensors such as pressure, flow, torque, speed, etc.

  • Drive Tests - Several of our systems have been used to drive functional devices such as Pumps, Differentials, Transmissions, Valves, etc.  In addition to testing the performance of the part itself, most of these system also require a conditioned fluid delivery system (transmission fluid, brake fluid, etc., sometimes at elevated, controlled temperatures).  Our engineers are experienced in designing supplemental fluid delivery and recovery systems for our functional test stands.

  • High Pressure Testing - A number of our functional test stands for smaller parts have required that test media (air or fluids) be delivered at higher pressures (up to 3500 psi).  Our design team can develop test systems that are safe, and use the highest quality components for maximum response and durability.

Material Handling & Processing

In addition to our assembly and test equipment, Fineline Designs has also produced several specialized machines for handling / processing of raw materials.  Our Material Processing machines are utilized on automated plant floor systems, and are integrated into an existing plant-wide control network.

Click here to view examples of some of our latest designs.

Automated Assembly & Inspection

In addition to test equipment, Fineline Designs can offer custom designed machines for assembly and inspection operations.  Our experience engineers can provide machines for Press Operations, Threaded Part Insertion, Loctite dispensing systems, and manual work stations.  Whether your application manually loaded components, or automatic part feeders, Fineline Designs can provide the proper solution for your application.

Our custom Press Monitoring Systems utilize High Speed Data Acquisition hardware to provide complete press operation solutions when combined with our fixture design and build capabilities.  Using our software, a Target Press Profile is captured and stored.  From user entered tolerance values for Force and Depth, our software can then determine Pass / Fail for subsequent press operations, and can identify improper fit (too tight, too loose) or improper hole depth.

Test Panel Custom Software

 

All of our PC based machines contain custom software designed specifically for that application.  By providing functionality tailored to the specific requirements of the machine, our customers do not have to be constrained by an "off the shelf" product's limitations.   As part of our design process, we sit down with your engineering, quality, and IT personnel, and develop a set of software features that satisfy your requirements.

 

A number of features have become "standard" in our software packages:

  •  A Graphical User Interface, most commonly on a 12"-15" Windows 2000 based Industrial Touch Panel Computer.

  • User Level Access Control can be easily configured to allow access to critical functions only for specified users.

  • Runtime Graphs, Historical and Statistical Control Charts are available to graphically show process integrity.

  • Ethernet Connectivity allows our test panel to be easily integrated into your plant data network, providing access to collected result data.

Several of our Functional Test designs include high speed data acquisition hardware, and can display highly complex graphs of a part's response during test.  This data may then be serialized and stored for later recall.

Fineline Designs

A Common-Sense Approach to Automation & Test