High Accuracy Testing at High Pressures

The test and analytics market for manufactured products is expansive. Nearly every product undergoes testing to ensure its quality, whether the specifications are set by the industry, an individual company or the government. Tests that control the amount of pressure or flow a product can withstand are common ways to check for potential weaknesses or leaks.

Wilson Company, a manufacturer and distributor that covers Texas, Oklahoma and part of Louisiana for Proportion-Air, is using one of our electro-pneumatic pressure regulators in a hydrostatic test system that’s been getting rave reviews. They recently sold several of these IntelliTest systems to a well-known aerospace company.

High Pressures, High Accuracy

The IntelliTest is an automated, non-destructive hydrostatic high pressure testing system. It uses a Proportion-Air regulator for the precise control of pressures ranging from 50 PSIG all the way up to 60,000 PSIG, liquid or gases. The system tests to certify and recertify critical-use pressurized parts.

Hydrostatic testing uses a liquid, usually water, and pressurizes it to test the strength of a vessel like a pipe or a tank. The testing system fills the item under test with liquid and removes all air. The pressure increases to the level required. After the test is completed, the user checks the part under test for changes in shape or leaks.

To control the pressure, the Wilson Company chose one of our electro-pneumatic pressure regulators. The precise control offered by the regulator was exactly what they needed for superior accuracy and repeatability. Because our regulator drives the testing pressure, the entire system projects the accuracies of the regulator.

How IntelliTest Works

The electronic regulator sits in a manifold at the top of the system. The user connects the part to be tested and inputs the desired pressure range, media and pressure profile. Based on the commanded pressure, the system automatically routes the pressure to one of three air-driven ratio pumps, or goes directly to the product if the pressure is low enough to control with only the electronic pressure regulator. The IntelliTest features numerous fail-safes, including an automatic system to prevent the release of pressure held on the part under test. The entire system is anything but simple, except from the user’s point of view.

Wilson Company has a video on their website and YouTube showing how the IntelliTest works. Color-coded lights let a user know when the system is ready, running, available or in fault. The company identifies several industries and specific products that the system excels in, including oil and gas, hose manufacturing, air tanks, accumulators, plug valves, check valves, manifolds and many petrochemical processes. And, more recently, aerospace, as mentioned at the start of this post.

On-site Impressions

Wilson Company is in Proportion-Air business development manager Morgan Mohr’s territory. He visited their Houston location and saw the IntelliTest system in action. His takeaways:

“The real fun is the software and touchscreen. They have made a package that is easy to repair, maintain and operate. It should last a long time before it needs servicing, even if used every single day in a factory environment.”

The best part?

“The entire process is so accurate due to our regulator!”