Rapid growth in electric vehicle sales along with an increasing interest in fuel-cell-electric powertrain systems presents the auto industry with serious and largely unanticipated quality-control issues.

Automakers in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region and the United States are struggling with performance and safety issues associated with electric and hybrid-electric cars.

Helium is in short supply and its cost is rising. Global sources may even run dry by the end of the century. And yet, it remains the dominant choice for trace-gas-based leak-testing on the production line. How can you make the most of this increasingly precious commodity for your critical quality assurance needs?

Since the early 1990s Lithium ion batteries have entered industrial markets as energy storage technology for mobile consumer electronics and battery-operated tools.

Leak testing is a broad term that includes a multitude of technologies. For the purposes of this article, different leak test methods will be referenced but not described in full detail. 

Pfeiffer Vacuum celebrated the opening of its new production location in Cluj, Romania.

From airbags to air-conditioning units and fuel rails, from anything implanted in the body to hermetically sealed enclosures for integrated circuits, there are some instances where the acceptable leak rate is so small as to be practically zero. Few air leak test methods, such as pressure decay, have the necessary detection range.

Electronic leak testing using either air or a tracer gas has made significant advances in the last decade with the addition of new techniques, improved sensitivity and faster test cycles.

Manufacturers in the automotive, refrigeration and air-conditioning industries today rely on helium- and hydrogen-based leak detection systems to assure the overall quality of their heat exchangers.