Automated RefrigerantLeak Test System.

Developed an automated refrigeration leak detection workflow capable of validating leaks below 0.1 oz/year while increasing manufacturing throughput and reducing operator dependency.

0.1 oz/year

Leak sensitivity threshold

Automated

Test sequencing and validation

Azure

Data storage and traceability

System Goal

Leak Detection Without Slowing Production

The challenge was detecting extremely small refrigeration leaks while maintaining production throughput and improving traceability.

Unit Scan + Badge Scan
↓
API Lookup
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Automatic Test Selection
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Safety Gate Verification
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Automated Decay Test
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Leak Detected?
↓
Safe Pressure Hold
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Operator Sniffer Search
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Sniffer Data Graphing
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Azure Database + Reporting

Key Engineering Concepts

API-Driven Automation

The system retrieves unit-specific configuration data automatically and determines the correct test sequence without operator decisions.

Safety Integration

Safety gates are required and visually verified before the test sequence is allowed to begin.

Vision-Based Safety Verification

AI-assisted vision systems verify that safety guards are correctly installed before automated testing begins, eliminating dedicated guard sensors and allowing flexible positioning across different unit configurations.

Automated Leak Detection

High-sensitivity pressure decay testing automatically identifies leaks exceeding strict quality thresholds.

Operator Workflow Simplification

Operators are only required when a leak is detected. The station automatically holds safe pressure for leak localization.

Sniffer Integration

The system retrieves leak sniffer data automatically and graphs the results for troubleshooting and reporting.

Data Infrastructure

All raw test data is stored in Azure databases for traceability, reporting, and future analysis.

Results

Manufacturing Quality Improvement

Reduced Leaks

Improved production quality and lower field issues

Higher Throughput

Automated testing reduced operator bottlenecks

Full Traceability

Centralized reporting and historical analysis