On February 4, 2005, KNF USA engineers entered the temperature-controlled space of the “Life Test Room” in Trenton, NJ, to initiate prototype testing for a specially-modified version of the KNF N 838 series diaphragm pump. At the time, the custom-designed OEM vacuum pump was being developed for a Fortune 100 medical device manufacturer, as an integral component of their immunoassay and clinical chemistry analyzer.
The KNF pump would need to perform its duty – vacuum aspiration of biological samples – quickly and quietly, while ensuring precision and durability over the life of the pump. Like all spec-driven KNF project pumps, the custom-engineered N 838 vacuum pump was to undergo substantial testing to ensure accuracy, reliability, and overall quality.
Among all tests performed by the KNF R&D team, the Life Test may be the most valuable as it simulates the rigorous operating conditions often found in real-world environments – providing valuable data which is used to further improve pump performance. KNF pumps that undergo this particular test are operated under a continuous duty cycle, at high load, in unfavourable temperatures. Collectively, these test settings amount to what KNF Engineers use to determine a “worst case scenario”. In short, the Life Test is employed as a means to identify specific opportunities for improvement, while simultaneously gauging the life span of the pump in its current configuration.
A peek inside the carefully controlled conditions of KNF’s Life Test Room.
Remarkably, from the date this post is written, over 12 years (105,189 hours) have passed since Life Testing began for this special N 838 project pump. You read that correctly; the incredibly durable N 838 pump is still running strong after more than a decade! This impressive test run time represents the longest continuous duty timeframe ever recorded at KNF Neuberger. It should also be noted that this record-setting operating life was achieved with only a few minor updates including diaphragm replacements at 30K and 60K hours. Despite advancements in both pump technology and testing procedures, engineers at KNF will continue to operate this extraordinarily resilient pump, in the Life Test Room, until it has completed a full lifetime…whenever that may be.
To put this unbelievable achievement into perspective, we have compiled a list of historical events* that have occurred since the start of the N 838 project pump Life Test:
2005 (Aug) – Hurricane Katrina makes landfall, devastating the US Gulf Coast
2006 (Jul) – Twitter is launched
2007 (Jun) – Apple releases the iPhone
2008 (Nov) – The United States elects Barack Obama president
2009 (Jul) – Roger Federer wins record 15th grand slam at Wimbledon
2010 (Oct) – All 33 Chilean miners are rescued after being trapped for a record 69 days underground
2011 (Apr) – Fidel Castro resigns from the Communist Party of Cuba’s central committee
2012 (Nov) – Scientists detect evidence of light from the universe’s first stars
2013 (Jul) – Detroit, Michigan becomes the largest U.S. municipality to file for bankruptcy
2014 (Mar) – Malaysia Airlines flight 370 disappears kicking off the most expensive search effort ever
2015 (Oct) – China announces the end to their one-child policy after 35 years
2016 (Nov) – Donald Trump is elected President of the United States
2017 (Jan) – World’s largest dinosaur footprint (1.7 meters) found in Western Australia
* events chosen, at random, from www.onthisday.com
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