NDCEE 10

Automated Plastic Media Blast for Depainting Landing

Gear Wheels for Commodities Directorate
Ogden Air Logistics Center (Task N.258)
Government POC
Bradley Christensen, OO-ALC
Albert Walker, ODASA(ESOH)
Status
Ongoing
Statement of Need
Ogden Air Logistics Center (OO-ALC) is the lead Air Force
site for the depot-level maintenance of aircraft landing gear
wheels. Once removed from the aircraft, separated into
halves and cleaned, the landing gear wheel halves are
immersed in a methylene chloride bath for removal of the
organic coating system. A manual plastic media blast (PMB)
touch-up is required after immersion in the methylene chloride
bath. This process, due to the time required, presents a
significant cost and bottleneck to production.
Military facilities are under increasing pressure to reduce and
or eliminate their use of methylene chloride (dichloromethane)
in coatings removal, and other processes. The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) severely limit the
permissible exposure limits and emissions of methylene
chloride. In addition, this compound is listed by the U.S.
EPA, OSHA, the Department of Health and Human Services,
and the World Health Organization as a potential human
carcinogen. Furthermore, the Air Force incurs additional
costs due to the stringent requirements placed on the
tracking and disposal of methylene chloride.
Identified Alternatives
PMB has already been approved by the Air Force for the
removal of coatings from landing gear wheels and
components. In fact, a manual PMB touch-up is currently
used after the methylene chloride immersion to remove the
remaining coating material. As a result, any further expansion
or use of PMB for landing gear will not require OO-ALC to
engage in any Weapons Systems process qualification
efforts.
The opportunity at hand is for the use of an automated, or
semiautomated, PMB system as a replacement for the
current methylene chloride immersion methodology. This
technology offers several potential benefits. First, through the
implementation of an automated PMB process for the removal
of the bulk of the coating material, the Air Force will be able to
immediately eliminate the use of methylene chloride for this
purpose. The results of this elimination will include
Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) benefits, as well as
cost benefits due to the elimination for the need to procure,
store, use, transport and dispose of this hazardous material.
Another potential benefit of the implementation of an
automated or semiautomated PMB process is the reduction
in cycle time for the removal of the coating material. With
appropriate part fixturing, many wheel halves can be stripped
concurrently; this dramatically improves the part throughput
rate and requires less operator interaction.
Demonstration and
Justification
From a list of candidates
identified through
literature searches and
contacted equipment
vendors, the National
Defense Center for
Environmental Excellence (NDCEE) will work with the Air
Force Technical Monitor to select automated and/or semi-
automated PMB systems for testing at the vendor location or
at OO-ALC. Prior to conducting these tests, the NDCEE will
develop a Test Plan based upon the requirements identified at
OO-ALC. The NDCEE will also provide a quality assurance/
quality control (QA/QC) Plan, as an Appendix to the Test
Plan, which will outline the plan for meeting the requirements
of the demonstration testing. Following approval of the Test
Plan and QA/QC Plan by the Government, the NDCEE will
commence demonstration testing of the selected candidates.
The NDCEE will summarize and evaluate the technical
performance results, process descriptions, operating data,
and economics of the evaluated PMB systems.
Implementation
Should the Air Force elect to proceed with implementation
based upon the results of the technology demonstrations, the
NDCEE will initiate the implementation process of the
selected system. The NDCEE will prepare the necessary
documentation, which includes a Request for Quote (RFQ),
specifications, and acceptance tests, for the procurement of
the Air Forces equipment. The NDCEE will also procure the
selected equipment and oversee the vendors installation
activities at OO-ALC. At the completion of installation, the
NDCEE will oversee the Acceptance Testing prior to
acceptance of the vendors equipment. Appropriate
Operations and Maintenance Manuals, as well as training for
Air Force personnel, will be provided as part of the
implementation.
Follow-up
If a system is installed, the NDCEE will provide support
services as necessary, including periodic implementation
review, measured progress, and as appropriate, corrective
action implementation.