Production helium leak testing of small sealed devices such as electronic components can be challenging. Small sealed electronics and other hermetically sealed devices require fine leak testing which demands that helium leak testing be used versus alternative tracer gases.
When leak testing these small sealed parts, helium must be used to perform the leak test. This can be done during the assembly process or after assembly by a technique known as helium bombing. A bombing chamber can be used to inject helium into small, sealed devices. The bombing method is commonly used when it is impractical to inject the helium tracer gas into the part during assembly.
Test Method
The Products are exposed to 99-100% Helium under pressure in pressure vessel and then transfer to vacuum chamber for leak test
Number of part per test
Can test many part per cycle
Rejection limit
10-5 to 10-8 mbar.l/s
Applicable product(s)
Small sealed devices such as electronic components, air bag igniter, etc.
It is common for small sealed electronic devices to be bombed (injected) with helium prior to leak testing as a way of introducing helium into the part. The bombing equipment must allow for control of helium pressure, bombing time, and proper evacuation and venting of the helium. Devices with larger internal volumes will require higher bombing pressures and longer bombing times in order to introduce sufficient helium.
In helium bombing, it is difficult to predict how much helium will be actually introduced into the part. For this reason it is often desirable to run a series of validation tests using the bombing parameters to ensure the desired results are obtained.Helium bombing is normally performed in batches. After bombing, the parts should be sprayed off with air or nitrogen to remove surface absorbed helium.
Nixma’s bombing leak detection features high flexibility to meet customers’ needs with an integration of conveyor and indexing table to produce a fully automated system.
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