At CPC, we want our customers to be absolutely confident in our products. That’s why we are always testing them. It starts with materials testing, followed by product testing and then testing to failure. It’s a system that allows us to gain a deeper understanding of our products while continually improving them. It also means you can rest easy knowing that CPC products will perform to their specifications and beyond.
It all starts with materials testing.
Before we create a coupling or connector, we have to determine what materials would be best for its construction. That’s why we have our own materials testing lab and engineers well-versed in materials science. They understand how the molecular structure of materials translates to component properties and performance. With this knowledge they evaluate materials to ensure that they are optimized for the intended application.
With expertise in metals, plastics and elastomers, CPC’s research, design and quality engineers have designed and built over 10,500 products that are operating in some of the most harsh and critical environments—from medical devices to chemical dispensing delivery to bioprocessing systems and everything in between.
Product testing taken to a new level.
Ensuring that our couplings and connectors will perform as specified informs all of our product testing. For most design engineers, their primary concern is leaks. That, combined with the fact we’ve built our reputation on being leak-proof, means we are extremely meticulous about leak testing.
In our lab, we have multiple ways of testing for leaks including helium mass spectrometer leak testing, bubble leak testing, pressure decay testing, and our newest, hydrostatic leak testing. This piece of testing equipment allows us to not only pressurize liquids to the desired level, it also can hold that pressure over a prescribed period to accurately simulate application conditions. Using a tracer dye in the liquid provides visual confirmation of leaks should they occur, while a pressure gauge detects very slow leaks that take place over the longer term.
In addition to new testing equipment and our rigorous processes, we also test to conform to ASTM standards. This provides design engineers with a quick way to know that CPC parts are validated and ready for specification. Of course, we will also continue to do application-specific testing—the gold standard for ensuring our part works perfectly in your device.
Testing to failure.
Even with our thorough materials and parts testing, occasionally a part will fail. We use these failures as an opportunity to improve the part, our processes or the part’s operating parameters.
After getting the part back to our testing lab, we talk with the customer to understand how the part was used. Was it exposed to chemicals, unusual mechanical stress, high temperatures or attached with a hose clamp? With that information, we try to reproduce the conditions that caused the failure. If we can replicate the failure, we analyze whether it was caused by a manufacturing defect, an inappropriate part material or if it was simply the wrong part for the application? We then share our findings with the customer to help ensure it doesn’t happen again.
End-to-end testing inspires confidence.
From materials testing to parts testing to testing to failure, the rigor we apply to testing is consistent with our goal of delivering industry-leading couplings and connectors to our customers. With three full-time test engineers and a lab outfitted with state-of-the-art testing equipment, we subject our parts to demanding testing that helps ensure they perform well beyond their specifications.