Air force research Laboratory substances Integrity engineers currently played a key role in enabling the safer and greater productive removing of paint from F-16 aircraft during the newly adopted Robotic Laser Coating removal equipment.
at the request of the Air drive life Cycle administration center Engineering Division, the research group, part of the materials and Manufacturing Directorate, contributed technical skills within the kind of check coupon analysis, verify method building and execution, and a lot of sorts of guidance and consultation throughout a seven-12 months effort that fully reimagined paint removing for definite styles of metal aircraft surfaces.
through this novel system, a laser-fitted robotic arm – mapped personally and notably to every plane – is moved over the car surface, nearly vaporizing paint layer by means of layer. The manner is absolutely contained, meaning all waste substances in addition to probably deplorable chemicals are vacuumed into the device. A imaginative and prescient gadget recognizes when the stripping reaches the appropriate stopping point.
It’s a completely automated technique that removes the direct human element, each when it comes to error and publicity. as a substitute, operators e-book the effort from a computer console in a close-by manage room.
because the paint is removed with a laser, as adversarial to ordinary mechanical or chemical strategies, Calcaterra noted the AFRL group had to have in mind a whole new set of factors when constructing look at various plans and evaluating the structural soundness of examine specimens.
The Robotics Laser Coating elimination system has these days been authorized for production F-16s and transitioned to the Ogden Air Logistics complex at Hill Air force evil, Utah, where it should be incorporated into the normal renovation toolset for the platform.
