Robotic Paint Stripping of Aircraft

Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) installed the world’s first automated aircraft paint stripping system at Hill Air Force Base in Ogden, Utah, for the U.S. Air Force’s Wright Laboratories Repair Technology (REPTECH) Program. The Robotic Paint Stripping Cell employs environmentally friendly, non-chemical plastic media blasting, suited to the delicate aluminum and composite materials common to military aircraft surfaces. Conventional paint stripping uses volatile chemicals and manual labor and creates large volumes of industrial waste.

The robotic system improves worker health and safety conditions by eliminating exposure to dust-laden air, avoiding elevated work platforms, and reducing fatiguing operations. In addition to the elimination of hazardous waste as a process by-product, labor savings and other indirect cost savings are projected to amount to thousands of dollars per aircraft.

SwRI developed the two-robot, fully automated work cell using modern process feedback and motion control technology. The system has been placed in full operation at the Hill Air Force Base Corrosion Control Facility, with the assistance of the Aircraft Operations Division.

Development of the system required a multidisciplinary approach drawing on a variety of SwRI technical specialties, including:

• Robotics
• Sensor Technology
• Controls
• Training Systems

Robotics

Because conventional robots could not manipulate paint stripping blast nozzles along the complex contours of military fighter aircraft, SwRI developed robots of unique kinematic design. Coordinated six-degree-of-freedom arms operate from 20-foot columns on folding supports, which allowed the robots to fit in an existing facility equipped for plastic media recovery with minimal modifications.

Interactive Training Systems

The Institute developed a Digital Video InteractiveŠ (DVI) computer training system to educate operator and maintenance personnel in a mistake-tolerant environment before final training on the actual system. The trainer has control buttons identical to those in the actual robotic system, and motion commands are displayed on a computer screen. Student progress is documented by automated testing and scoring.

Controls

The system’s two robots operate independently with their own multi-axis control systems, their actions coordinated by a remote cell computer serving as the primary operator interface for the system. From a protected area isolated from the blasting, technicians use computers and their own knowledge of paint stripping to adjust the automated process.

Sensor Technology

Aircraft paint thickness and conditions vary widely and cannot be determined except as the paint is removed. SwRI developed a special sensor (U.S. Patent No. 5,038,038) to provide feedback to the robot motion controls based on the light reflected from the aircraft surface. Using this information, the robot controller maintains the optimum nozzle speed to remove the paint completely without overblasting the substrate.

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