Side Vent Applications and Products

Lenox Laser has specialized in drilling microhole side vents for a wide variety of applications serving several markets. Some of the major products that use these vents include arterial syringe side vents, hydrogen release caps, vented containers, advanced plastic bags, catheters, suction canisters, ventilation, and hydrostatic vents. These side vents are commonly used in medical, biotechnology, chemical processing, and flow control applications.

Some of the side venting jobs that we have performed in the past -

• MEMS application for micro vents used in semiconductors.

• Cryogenic liquids application -a side vent in the transfer tube for increase in liquid transfer.

• Medical application-a side vent in glass ,metal or plastic for micro management of liquid and gas.

• Calibrated packaging leak testing -equalizing contents pressure without compromising integrity.

Lenox Laser can drill micro side vents in various sizes ranging from 1 to 1000 microns in a wide variety of materials including metals, glasses, and plastics for any application. We can either drill in an existing part or material or we can help you design an advanced system for your side venting applications. Our engineers are here to research, design, fabricate, and drill advanced components to help solve any problem.

Lenox Laser, Inc. new equipment and process development has made these products readily available to many industries for packaging integrity testing and calibration with NIST traceability.

Testing Packaging Pinhole Leaks Integrity

In today's world, packaging integrity serves the highest purpose for any food or drug company. If they are unable to deliver their products safely without tampering to the public then they would not be able to sell anything. Consumers demand that their food and drugs must be guaranteed fresh, safe, and cost effective. Companies place the highest regard to the safety and integrity of their products packaging but in today's changing environment this can be quite challenging. This is where Lenox Laser has the expertise and knowledge to help companies create standards that can be used to help test their packaging even in a production line.

Lenox Laser, Inc. has the unique ability to drill precise repeatable critical flow orifices in glass, vials, ampoules, lids, pouches, cans, containers, blister packs, skin packs, vacuumed sealed packs, bottle capping and advanced types of primary packaging for use in testing and a production environment. Our critical flow orifices can be drilled directly into your product's packaging often allowing the company to replace expensive testing equipment ultimately saving thousands of dollars while increasing product safety. We also specialize in controlling product atmosphere's flow rate using our orifice technologies and calculators. We can also help develop package integrity and tamper resistant technologies that can alert the consumer if the product has been compromised. Lenox Laser is ale to drill micro holes down to the half micron which allows the smallest of flow rates that can be used to test the seals of your package. Often customers use several of our drilled products to test their products packaging while they are being packaged which saves time, energy, and money while increasing quality.

Our orifices can help with both destructive and non-destructive packaging testing for whatever application you may need. Our orifices are often used in vacuum/pressure decay testing and direct gas leak detection testing methods where flow control and detection is critical down to the smallest micron. Our small calibrated orifices can also be used to detect if there are any leaks in the seal. The quality of the packaging integrity is only as good as the strength of its seal which is often the hardest to test. Using our pinhole detection technologies, manufacturers can easily test their packages for pinholes down to the half micron thus detecting microbial barrier's to the smallest possible- as noted below the smaller the hole the harder for your packages integrity to be comprised.

Recent research, such as Earl Hackett’s study explained in “How Pinholes Affect Packaging” in the July 2000 issue of PMP News, indicates that in flexible packages with breathable barrier materials, the nature of flow and the mobility of bacteria may in fact make penetration difficult with holes up to 50 µm. (According to Hackett, the data showed that essentially all particles that entered the hole exited on the far side. The flow through the entire package was split between the hole and the Tyvek or paper. The number of particles detected coming through the 100-mm diameter sample of barrier material was statistically the same with or without the hole until the hole reached a minimum diameter of 50 µm.)

Please E-mail drawings with hole size or flow rate with specific gas and up/down
stream pressures, we can calibrate your online production packaging equipment.
E-mail- quotes@lenoxlaser.com or call 410-592-3106 for more information.

Also for more information please visit -

http://www.devicelink.com/pmpn/archive/03/01/003.html
Using pinholes as tools to attain optimum modified atmospheres in packages of fresh produce
Industrial Sterilization
http://www.quartetenterprises.com/calculate_effect_of_pinhole.htm
http://www.tmelectronics.com/resources_pkgTestingFoodIndustry.htm

Lenox Laser Flow Certifications

Our methods of testing and calculating are new and unique. Our testing methods and our calculating methods will be described in a three page description included with this explanation.

Basically all test methods described depend on comparing a part being tested to one of our standards. We have over one-hundred standards which were developed by test method number one. While developing standards a certified digital test gauge that reads in absolute pressures was used to establish and maintain 29.7 P.S.I.A. To establish water volume in the tube or tubes between the lower and upper photocells, water was carefully poured into the system (using an eye dropper), until the lower light came on. Further water was added until the upper light came on. The water added was measured in graduate cylinders and also weighed on a digital scale that read to the thousand of a gram. These volumes with the computer measured time to go from the lower to the upper photocell provided the information to calculate the flow rates and the flow diameters. All tests to establish standards were run a minimum of five times.

In the past, we have sent a few standards to N.I.S.T. test facility for comparison. The first few were midsized and compared within ½ of a percent. The next time we sent some near 5 microns in size and they were found to be approximately ten percent to large. We then sent the same orifices to another N.I.S.T. test facility and they found them to be approximately ten percent too small. They guarantee their test to be within plus or minus seven percent.

We have many repeat customers that have found our work satisfactory over the years. Some of these customers are large and have very sophisticated test equipment of their own. Among these customers is Sandia who gives our quality system an SPQR 1050 certified rating.

All of our standards are re-calibrated yearly. When calibrating parts for customers two separate standards are use to orient the computer. If there is any discrepancy, further testing and checking follows to determine the cause of the problem.
A Lenox Laser certification means we have tested your parts to meet our standards and procedure.

If you need further approval, you can purchase the orifices needed and send them the test facility of your choice.

For more Flow Calibration Certification services, please visit Lenox Lasers certification page.