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The world's first fully automated aircraft paint stripping system was installed by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) 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 (RPSC) employs an environmentally friendly, nonchemical dry media blasting process, suited to the delicate aluminum and composite materials common to military aircraft surfaces. The RPSC is a two-robot system that was originally developed for F-4 Phantom coating removal. Immediately following installation, the system programming was adapted for F-16 Falcon aircraft and is used to process approximately 100 F-16s each year.
A sister system, installed at Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins, Georgia, is known as the Robotic Depaint System (RDS). The RDS uses three robots, one for each side and one for the verticals, for coating removal. This system processes approximately 50 F-15 Eagles each year.
The robotic systems improve worker health and safety conditions by eliminating exposure to dust-laden air, avoiding elevated work platforms, and reducing fatiguing manual depainting operations. In addition, labor savings and other indirect cost savings are projected to amount to thousands of dollars per aircraft.
Background of Aircraft Paint StrippingSwRI was presented with the task of automating the depainting of aircraft. The previous method of depainting military aircraft was manual labor intensive and time consuming. The blasting material resulted in a very dusty work environment with poor lighting conditions. The Air Force installed the systems to:
Robotic Paint Stripping Cell SolutionTo meet the specifications required by the military, SwRI developed custom robotic systems for Hill and Robins Air Force Bases.
The RPSC was initially installed with patented sensor technology for closed-loop paint removal control. Each robot has nine degrees of freedom. The motion is controlled by an Adept Windows controller installed in an Adept MV-10 chassis. A custom kinematic solution was incorporated to accommodate a redundant axis on the arm.
The specifications for an RDS robot are provided in the table below:
The media delivery system incorporates a continuous-feed blast pot provided by Schmidt of International Surface Preparation. The media recovery and filtering system for the RPSC was provided by Clemco Industries, and the media recovery and processing system for the RDS was provided by Blast Grit Recovery Systems (BGRS). Each robot was initially installed with three custom round nozzles that provided a 7-inch stripping swath. All robots were upgraded to a Pauli Systems fan nozzle to provide a 9-inch swath. The average time to for robotic depaint operations of an F-16 aircraft is 10 hours and the average time to depaint an F-16 aircraft is 12 hours.
Robotic Paint Stripper Results/OutcomeThe RPSC and the RDS are both in full-production use. The Air Force depends on these two systems to meet production demands. Additionally, these systems may be adapted to depaint other components, if necessary.
For more information about robotic paint strippers
capabilities at SwRI or how you can contract with SwRI, please contact
Clay
Flannigan at
wflannigan@swri.org or (210) 522-6805. |
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| Manufacturing Systems Department | Automation and Data Systems Division | SwRI Home | |
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Southwest Research Institute® (SwRI®), headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, is a multidisciplinary, independent, nonprofit, applied engineering and physical sciences research and development organization with 12 technical divisions. |
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November 12, 2009 |
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