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New process lessens production time, health hazards

  • Published
  • By Brandice J. Armstrong
  • 72nd Air Base Wing Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE --  Six months ago, the process took four or five hours. Today, the 566th Aircraft Maintenance Group's Disassembly and Cleaning Unit can "nitpick" an aircraft part of its paint within 20 minutes.
   Until recently, officials removed paint from small areas and openings of weapon systems' flight controls with methylene chloride. Methylene chloride, an active ingredient in Phenol and a potentially cancerous chemical, ate the paint away. Now, the paint is removed with a laser, which heats a surface up to 120 or 130 degrees and pops off the paint.
   "We have been looking for alternate methods to nitpick," said David Painter, deputy section chief. "We would like to do away with Phenol.
   "There is minimal hazardous waste involved (with a laser) and from a bio standpoint, it doesn't involve any chemicals," Mr. Painter said.
   Mr. Painter said, prior to the introduction of lasers, the stripping of a whole aircraft, including the nitpicking, was performed with Phenol. Yet, due to the health hazards, the de-paint section is only allowed to use 50 gallons of the chemical per aircraft. So the use of Phenol was reduced to just nitpicking. "Plane Naked," an environmentally-friendly aircraft stripper is now used to de-paint or strip the remainder of the aircraft.
  Mr. Painter said officials considered the use of "Plane Naked" for nitpicking, but it took too long. So, they tried another medium, a laser.
   Since the laser has proved efficient for nitpicking, officials said they hope to eventually move laser technology to de-painting aircraft.
   "We started with aircraft parts, but if it works out, we would like to move this technology to the (whole) aircraft," Mr. Painter said.
   The 566th AMXG received the laser's equipment, a 125-watt unit and a 500-watt unit, from Air Force Materiel Command Headquarters about six months ago. The machines cost approximately $250,000 each.
   "We've worked with a lot of engineers and we're inviting others to take a look at what we can do and hopefully we can impress them enough to where they'll allow us to work on their weapons systems," said Joe Longoria, laser operator.
   Mr. Longoria, who is one of only six laser operators within the 175-person Disassembly and Cleaning Unit, said they've since received approvals from KC-135 and E-3 engineers, as well as permission to work on their aircraft parts.
   Paint stripping is conducted every four to six years and is necessary for officials to look for corrosion and keep the weight of the plane down, said Shelvie Tabb, the unit's section chief.