Paint finishing systems play a critical role in protecting aerospace components from corrosion, ensuring safety, and enhancing the aesthetics of each piece. From military and defense applications to commercial vessels, the aerospace industry requires advanced and highly controlled finishing processes. Here are some of the common finishing systems used in the aerospace industry for manufacturing and maintenance.
Spray Booths
Most aerospace paint operations include spray booths, as they provide a controlled environment with the right ventilation, overspray modules to recapture materials, and temperature control are the backbone of most aerospace paint operations. The common types of booths used are full downdraft, cross-draft, and side-downdraft booths to ensure a controlled environment with proper ventilation, overspray capture, and temperature and humidity controls that are critical for consistent coating application.
Pre-Treatment and Wash Enclosures
Part preparation is a crucial step before applying coatings to clean and pre-treat surfaces. To ensure adhesion and corrosion resistance, aerospace pre-treatments can include alkaline or acid cleaning, etching, chromate and non-chromate conversion coating. Wash enclosures help to contain any pre-treatment processes used, providing a controlled environment to reduce contamination and ensure worker safety.
Curing Ovens
Curing ovens are used to cure parts after coatings are applied in a temperature-controlled environment to ensure chemical resistance, durability, and flexibility. Batch ovens are commonly used for smaller parts or lower volume pieces, while conveyors or continuous ovens are used for high-volume production. Infrared curing is also used for fast-curing applications.
Robotics and Automation
Aerospace finishing operations are using automation and robotics to improve production and reduce manual labor. Robotics are used when there is a complex-shaped component that makes manual finishing difficult. Integrating automated processes like conveyors and robotics helps ensure precise and consistent coatings for complicated components and parts.
The aerospace industry requires durable, high-performance paint finishing solutions to ensure compliance with strict industry guidelines and standards. Each component of the finishing system is vital to the success of the production line. Rohner designs and builds finishing systems for Class A finishing facilities in compliance with NAVFAC and Unified Facilities Criteria (UFC). Talk to our team about integrating automation or redesigning your finishing system to improve production and reduce costs.
Have questions? Please contact the Rohner team: info@rohner-usa.com