Aerospace Components and Structures

There is a large requirement for the PMB technology in the stripping of aerospace components. The process has the potential to save many thousands of dollars over current stripping methods and, in fact, can sometimes mean the difference between salvaging a part or scrapping it.

For example, the Missile Systems Division of Hughes Aircraft Company (now Raytheon) uses a coating on the wire spool for the TOW missile which resists chemical stripping. Due to production process requirements, there are times when it becomes necessary to strip and re-coat the surface of these spools. In an effort to avoid having to scrap many of these parts, STI took part in a test program to use the PMB process to strip this coating using 3.5 mohs material in a 30/40 sieve size. Using PMB, STI successfully stripped the epoxy coating, leaving the anodized surface intact.

After proving the potential on the TOW program, the next logical step was to provide the process to the Maverick missile program. Hughes allowed a PMB test on 2 missile airframes. After de-painting, a Hughes process engineer inspected the surface and was satisfied that the surface chemical film (Alodine) was intact. Since this test, STI de-painted several hundred of these airframes, providing the ability to economically re-configure the standard airframe for various branches of the military.

One very unusual application for PMB is the removal, through sacrifice, of phenolic based components from high value structures. STI has performed a test on a MK. 70 booster assembly to evaluate the effectiveness of PMB for the removal of the phenolic, approach cone insulator, when bonding anomalies are found. Due to the location of this component within the structure, removal after bonding is almost impossible without incurring damage to the casing. PMB proved capable of completely removing the phenolic material without marking the casing surface. This process is expected to be a very valuable adjunct to the company involved in the production of this component, with the savings on the first 11 units projected to exceed $400,000.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 26th, 2008 at 1:25 pm and is filed under Plastic Media Blasting For Applications Other Than Airc. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.