Air Force seeks to develop next generation aircraft paint booth Published April 7, 2015 By Air Force Research Laboratory Materials and Manufacturing Directorate WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE -- Aircraft coatings are critical to the operational life of aircraft - enabling heat resistance and coating and corrosion protection. On the new F-35 Lightning II, coatings will require maintenance over the lifetime of the program to meet strict environmental controls and quality finishes. This can be a costly, energy intensive process. As a result, the Air Force Research Laboratory's Materials and Manufacturing System Support Division has teamed with the Ogden Air Logistics Complex and the F-35 Joint Program Office to design and install the next generation of coating application booths at the depot. The new booth will utilize state-of-the-art control logic and energy efficient sub-systems to reduce overall life-cycle costs. Activity The design of a next generation coatings booth for aircraft like the F-35 requires consideration of both coatings application and non-application activities that occur inside the booth. This work includes preparation of the aircraft - removing coatings, cleaning, and masking - as well as the new coating application. The specialized equipment and solvents used for these activities require strict handling to ensure the health and safety of maintenance staff. Because application conditions are critical to quality finishes, mechanical systems control the paint booth environment. Traditional paint booths continuously replenish the air inside to meet required temperature and humidity levels. The mechanical systems used for this process consume significant amounts of energy, contributing to operating cost and making them a primary target for cost reduction. To reduce energy consumption, AFRL is focusing its development on capturing the heat and humidity of the exhausted air via recirculation through energy wheels or heat exchangers. This approach can reduce the amount of required conditioning costs by as much as 80 percent. Additionally, the integration of robotics into the paint booth improves throughput, reduces overspray, and minimizes the coating weight while reducing labor costs and adding a consistency to the application process. The addition of robotics considers spatial, structural, energy, paint delivery, and other technology-defined requirements. Addressing these needs in the design phase ensures the ability to introduce specific robotic technologies and maximize the opportunity for successful implementation over the long-term. Impact The next generation paint booth includes several cost-saving and resource-reducing advantages, including improved control systems that employ sensors to monitor real time conditions; minimized energy consumption; maintenance of operator safety; balanced airflow; and recorded data for internal and external use. The recorded data helps identify mechanical failures, automate maintenance requests and compliance checks, and generate a baseline of operations for the booth. The improvements to the paint application booths reduce the cost of ownership of the facility, which will further reduce the lifecycle cost of the aircraft.