In 2026, AMD Machines quoted a two-position bubble leak test station for die-cast aluminum housings at $110,000–$130,000 installed, including shipping and four days of installation and commissioning, taxes excluded. The same station concept fits other cast or joined metal parts whose leaks you need to locate: pump, compressor, gearbox and motor housings, valve bodies and hydraulic manifolds, sealed enclosures, and aluminum tanks and coolers.
Prices are ranges from AMD Machines' 2026 quote. For the full range of leak and functional testing we build, see our automated test systems page.
A bubble leak test station is a machine that seals a part's openings, pressurizes it with air and holds it under water, so an operator can watch for the stream of bubbles that marks a leak and its exact location. The AMD Machines station in this case study does that for two housing models in two independent test rigs.
| Item | AMD Machines bubble leak test station |
|---|---|
| Part family | Die-cast aluminum housings with a large sealing face, two models |
| Test method | Visual bubble (immersion) test in two independent rigs; the operator makes the pass/fail call |
| Clamping | Six self-locking Destaco clamps per rig, sized for 29 psi (2 bar) |
| Design basis | 300,000 parts a year (150,000 per model), 110-second cycle per part in each rig, one operator |
| Price | $110,000–$130,000 installed, taxes excluded |
| Lead time | 16 weeks from purchase order to factory acceptance test |
What Is in This Bubble Leak Test Station?
AMD Machines designs the station around a welded steel frame with a stainless steel water tank. Two testing rigs share that frame, the tank, the controls and the operator interface, but each rig has its own fixture, clamps, seals, pressure sensor and lowering mechanism. One operator loads and unloads both. AMD Machines specifies the equipment by brand in the quote:
| System | In the AMD Machines station |
|---|---|
| Structure | Welded steel profile frame with base plate; welded stainless steel water tank with a water level sensor |
| Part handling | One hinged lowering mechanism per rig, driven by an SMC pneumatic actuator, with position sensors |
| Clamping | Six Destaco pneumatic clamps per rig, with mechanical locking so a part can't drop if air pressure is lost |
| Sealing | A polyurethane sealing plate on the part's main face, plus two FasTest pneumatic seals per rig for the shaft openings, each pair driven by SMC actuators |
| Pressure | One pressure sensor per rig to confirm the part reached test pressure before it goes under water; two manual regulators to set test pressure |
| Pneumatics | SMC filter-regulator-lubricator unit, seven SMC valves and related SMC components |
| Controls | Siemens S7-1200 1214C PLC with a Siemens I/O module, SIMATIC HMI MTP700 Unified Basic operator panel, Rittal control and HMI enclosures, Ethernet |
| Safety | Two Sick safety light curtains, two Optotouch cycle-start buttons, a Euchner interlock, two Allen-Bradley emergency stops, Euchner safety relay with Omron force-guided relays |
| Lighting | Two status lights and an area light for loading, unloading and the visual inspection |
How Much Does a Bubble Leak Test Station Cost?
AMD Machines quoted the station at $110,000–$130,000, including shipping and installation at the buyer's plant, taxes excluded. The quote prices it in five lines:
| Line in the AMD Machines quote | Price range |
|---|---|
| Base machine with two test areas: frame, stainless tank, controls, HMI, safety | $55,000–$65,000 |
| Testing Rig 1: fixture, clamps, seals, pressure sensor, lowering mechanism | $20,000–$25,000 |
| Testing Rig 2: same scope | $20,000–$25,000 |
| Shipping and insurance to the buyer's plant | $5,000–$7,500 |
| Installation and commissioning: four days on site, travel included | $5,000–$7,500 |
| Total installed | $110,000–$130,000 |
How Does This Tester Compare With AMD's Published Ranges?
That total sits in the lower half of the $75,000–$250,000 range AMD Machines publishes for a typical single-station automated test system. AMD Machines' guide to what automation costs lists a "Leak / end-of-line test station" at "$75K – $250K".
What Are the Payment Terms for a Bubble Leak Test Station?
AMD Machines' payment terms for this station are 40% with the purchase order, 35% at design release, 15% at approval in AMD's facility and 10% at final approval in the buyer's plant, with a 12-month warranty.
What Moves the Price of a Bubble Leak Tester?
These choices move the price of a bubble tester more than anything else:
- How many rigs. Each rig in the AMD Machines quote costs roughly 20% of the installed total. A single-rig version costs less but tests one part at a time.
- How hard the part is to seal. Fixtures, clamps and custom seals are where a large, complex casting costs money (next section).
- Who makes the leak call. This station leaves the pass/fail decision to the operator. Adding automatic bubble detection, or switching to an instrument-based method, changes the machine and its price.
Why Does Sealing Drive the Design of a Bubble Leak Tester?
Every square inch of sealed area pushes back with the full test pressure. At 29 psi (2 bar), the figure AMD Machines' engineers use to size this machine, each square inch of sealed face needs 29 lb of clamping force just to hold the seal shut. A housing face of 100 square inches would need about 2,900 lb before any safety margin. The housings this station tests have a very large sealing surface, which is why AMD's engineering team starts with the clamps, not the tank: the machine needs heavy ones.
That's where the six Destaco clamps per rig come from, and why AMD Machines specifies clamps with mechanical locking. If plant air drops while a pressurized part hangs over a water tank, a self-locking clamp keeps it in place.
If you're scoping your own tester, measure the largest sealed area before anything else. It sets clamp size, frame stiffness and a good part of the price.
Why Check Pressure Before the Part Goes Under Water?
A part that isn't sealed properly will bubble whether it leaks or not, and the operator can't tell a bad seal from a bad casting. So the AMD Machines design adds a gate: after clamping and sealing, the rig pressurizes the part, and the pressure sensor must confirm it reached test pressure before the hinge lowers it into the tank. If pressure doesn't come up, the cycle stops and the HMI tells the operator, usually because the part isn't seated or a seal isn't closed.
A second gate checks the tank. A water level sensor blocks the cycle if the water is low, because a part that isn't fully submerged can't be inspected fully.
The AMD Machines quote is explicit about what the pressure sensors are not: they confirm the part is sealed and pressurized, and they don't perform a pressure decay leak test unless that's specified separately.
How Does the Bubble Leak Test Cycle Run, Step by Step?
The AMD Machines station runs each part through 12 steps:
- The operator loads a part into one rig.
- The machine checks the tank water level.
- The operator starts the cycle with that rig's Optotouch button.
- The Destaco clamps close on the part.
- The pneumatic seals close the shaft openings.
- The part is pressurized to the test pressure.
- The pressure sensor confirms the part reached that pressure.
- If it did, the hinge lowers the part until it's fully under water; if not, the cycle stops and alerts the operator.
- A stabilization period runs while the part stays pressurized.
- A green light tells the operator the inspection window has started.
- The operator watches the part for bubbles.
- Pressure is released, the part rises out of the tank and the operator unloads it.
Test pressure, the pressure validation limits, the stabilization time and the inspection time are all set on the HMI. Because the AMD Machines rigs run independently, the operator loads one while the other is under water.
Bubble Test, Pressure Decay or Mass Flow: Which Should You Buy?
A bubble test shows where a part leaks. Pressure decay and mass flow tell you how much it leaks, as a number. That's the whole trade-off:
| Bubble (immersion) test | Pressure decay or mass flow | |
|---|---|---|
| What the result is | An operator sees bubbles, or doesn't | An instrument reads a leak rate against a limit |
| Finds the leak location | Yes, you see exactly where it is | No, it only says the part leaks |
| Pass/fail decision | Operator judgment during an inspection window | Automatic, with data for traceability |
| Typical use | Porosity hunting on castings, diagnosis, repair and rework | 100% production testing to a stated leak specification |
| Sensitivity | Depends on pressure, inspection time and the operator | See our comparison of leak testing methods |
This AMD Machines station is a visual bubble test by design: the quote's clarifications state that the machine doesn't make an OK/NOK call on its own. That's the right machine when someone downstream asks for a bubble test, or when you need to see where a casting leaks. When the specification is a leak rate, an instrument-based automated leak test station is the better buy.
Which Parts and Industries Does This Bubble Leak Test Station Fit?
AMD Machines' bubble leak test station concept fits manually loaded metal parts whose leaks have to be located, in heavy equipment, automotive and general manufacturing:
| Part family or application | Why it fits | What would change |
|---|---|---|
| Die-cast aluminum gearbox, pump, compressor and motor housings with shaft openings | The family this station is designed for: porosity in a casting with a large sealing face | Sealing plate, port seals and nest per model; clamp count and force scaled to the sealed area |
| Cast valve bodies and hydraulic manifolds with drilled ports | The bubble stream shows which port, passage or wall leaks | More port seals, smaller clamps, nests sized to the part |
| Sealed aluminum enclosures and covers for motors, controls and power electronics | The same seal, pressurize and submerge sequence finds leaks through a cast wall, gasket face or fitting | Seals for cable, connector and vent openings; test settings from the enclosure's specification |
| Welded or brazed aluminum tanks, reservoirs and coolers | Bubbles mark a leaking weld or brazed joint | Seals on the fittings instead of a face plate; a deeper tank for larger parts |
| Parts rejected by a pressure decay or mass flow tester | The instrument says a part leaks; the bubble tank shows where | Often one rig, with fixtures for every model the production tester handles |
For these industries, see AMD Machines' heavy equipment manufacturing automation, automotive manufacturing automation and general manufacturing automation pages.
What Safety Does a Bubble Leak Tester Need?
The operator works at the tank, next to heavy clamps and parts that swing down into water. AMD Machines guards each rig with a Sick safety light curtain, and the operator starts each rig's cycle from its own Optotouch button, outside the light curtain. A Euchner interlock, two Allen-Bradley emergency stops and a Euchner safety relay with Omron force-guided relays complete the safety circuit, and the self-locking clamps hold the part if air pressure is lost.
The AMD Machines quote also includes a first draft of an ISO 12100 risk assessment before the factory acceptance test.
In your request for quote, specify UL 508A control panels and NFPA 79 machine wiring.
What Does the Bubble Leak Tester Quote Include and Leave Out?
The AMD Machines quote includes the machine, shipping with insurance to the buyer's plant, and four days on site to install and commission it. The documentation package lists:
- full 3D and 2D files in STEP or SolidWorks format, which AMD Machines sends about two weeks after the machine so they include final debug changes
- operator's manual, troubleshooting guide and technician's manual
- the ISO 12100 risk assessment, equipment specifications and installation guide
- electrical and pneumatic diagrams, a preventive maintenance plan, a spare parts list and the full bill of materials
The buyer is responsible for:
- offloading the crates on arrival
- site preparation and floor loading
- bringing electrical, pneumatic, network and exhaust utilities to the machine's connection points
- confirming in writing that the machine is in its final position
- taxes
How Long Does It Take to Build a Bubble Leak Test Station?
AMD Machines' lead time for this station is 16 weeks from purchase order to the machine being ready for its factory acceptance test at AMD's facility in Querétaro, Mexico. Shipping and the four-day installation follow.
For comparison, AMD Machines delivers simple machines in as little as 6 weeks and complex systems in 24–26 weeks, against 40–42 weeks typical for overseas builders. A two-rig manual-load tester lands between the two. See our custom automation lead times for what sets the schedule.
What Should You Send to Get a Leak Tester Quoted?
AMD Machines quotes a leak tester from your part and your specification. Send:
- 3D models of every part model to be tested, with the openings that must be sealed marked
- the test method and leak limit the part's specification requires, or the test pressure if it's a bubble test
- annual volume per model, shifts and your target cycle time
- how many operators you plan, and whether the station stands alone or sits in a line
- your plant voltage and preferred brands for PLC, HMI, pneumatics and safety
- sample parts: AMD Machines' standard terms ask for 50 of each model with the purchase order, for tuning and the factory acceptance test
Bubble Leak Test Station FAQ
How much does a bubble leak test station cost?
A two-rig bubble leak test station costs $110,000–$130,000 in a 2026 AMD Machines quote, including shipping and four days of commissioning, taxes excluded. Each of its two test rigs is priced at roughly $20,000–$25,000 on top of a $55,000–$65,000 base machine. Automatic bubble detection would add to that.
What pressure is used for a bubble leak test?
It's set by the part's specification. This AMD Machines station sets test pressure with manual regulators, and its clamps are sized for 29 psi (2 bar). At that pressure every square inch of sealed area needs 29 lb of clamping force.
Can bubble detection be automated?
Yes, with cameras or ultrasonic sensing that detect bubbles leaving the part. AMD Machines has run preliminary tests of ultrasonic bubble detection but hasn't yet built it into a production system. When a line needs an automatic pass/fail result, pressure decay or mass flow testing is the standard route.
Is bubble testing accurate enough for production?
For finding where a casting leaks, bubble testing is hard to beat: you see the leak. For proving every part meets a leak rate, use an instrument. A common setup uses both: an instrument-based tester on the line, and a bubble tank to find where the rejected parts leak.
If you're budgeting a leak tester for cast housings, valve bodies, enclosures or tanks, send us your part and specification and AMD Machines will tell you which method fits and what it costs.