When you’re designing automation systems, leak testing can be one of the most time-consuming and uncertain steps, especially when juggling multiple projects at once. This six-part blog series shows how Uson’s Astra Dash helps you overcome common bottlenecks by cutting engineering time, improving Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) results, and giving you a scalable, future-ready testing platform. Each article builds on the last to illustrate how Astra Dash supports automation engineers and project managers throughout the system lifecycle — from R&D validation through to high-volume production.

The Hidden Challenge: Leak Testing in Automation Projects

If you’re an automation engineer or project manager, you already know the challenge: you’re often working on several customer projects at once, each with its own requirements, deadlines, and validation needs. Leak testing may be critical to the process, but it’s rarely the core of your system design expertise. Instead, it becomes one more variable that can drag down development time, introduce uncertainty, and complicate customer acceptance testing.

Why Traditional Leak Testers Slow You Down

Traditional leak testers don’t make things any easier. Many rely on centralized manifolds, meaning one failure can shut down the whole system. Others require external PLC logic just to run dependent sequences. Every new test type feels like starting from scratch. The result? More hours spent troubleshooting pneumatics and writing test code instead of focusing on the bigger picture: delivering a fully functional automation system on time.

Astra Dash Puts Leak Testing Expertise in the Box

Astra Dash was designed to take that burden off your plate. Its built-in test method wizards embed Uson’s decades of leak testing expertise into the tester itself. Whether it’s pressure decay, mass flow, burst, or occlusion, the system walks you through setup step by step. That means your team doesn’t have to be leak testing experts — the know-how is already in the box. Less trial-and-error, fewer late-night debug sessions, and more confidence that your test protocols are validated correctly the first time.

Standardized Workflows That Scale Across Projects

Another key advantage is the standardized interface and controls across all projects. Once your engineers learn Astra Dash’s touchscreen workflows, widgets, and Automation Director, they can apply the same approach to every new build. That commonality reduces training overhead, speeds up system commissioning, and keeps development cycles predictable. Instead of tailoring your controls for every customer’s unique tester, you gain a repeatable foundation that scales across projects.

Technical Advantages That Simplify Integration

And of course, Astra Dash brings the technical muscle that makes integration smoother: pneumatically independent channels that keep tests isolated, synchronous/asynchronous control to match takt times, and plug-and-play communication protocols (Ethernet/IP, Modbus, Profinet, REST API) for direct MES/QMS connectivity. The result is fewer workarounds, less PLC code, and a faster path from FAT to production handoff.

The Astra Dash is the world’s first modular, multichannel leak tester with pneumatically isolated, asynchronous channels developed by Uson by PAC. It represents a dramatic leap forward for instrument uptime, technical accessibility, and flexible, scalable manufacturing. Learn more about Astra Dash.

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