I uploaded them a long time ago to a dedicated Youtube channel and pretty much forgot about them until the other day when I was reviewing my Goog portfolio. As expected, the videos do a lot of explaining and you will also hear the Lead Engineer explaining certain things about the processes. On this blog post I will point out the not so obvious things.
Let's start out with the Glorious Finn-Power 3 Ton CNC Press executing a routine for an aircraft equipment tray. Here it is running at 100%.
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| Fresh out of the machine |
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| Ready for the next steps |
Next up is the TimeSaver abrasion finishing machine making short work of a piece of aluminum. A combination of water, abrasive belts and vibration ensure every surface (above and below) has been stripped of any coatings, finishes or residue.
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| The "Timesaver" |
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| Part after processing |
The 17-ton Brake Press is a beauty. On this video we can appreciate a few things. First thing to point out is that there are 2 setups on this machine, a right-hand setup and a left-hand setup. You will see the operator bends one side, then the other side. The second thing to note is the thin sheet of foam paper stuck in place with blue tape, serving as a scratch shield between the die and the material. That kinda thing makes me happy, to see operators who take pride in their workmanship, regardless how small the damage to the piece could be.
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| The finished tray |
Next two videos are short and they show the abrasive tumblers doing their thing. These machines deburr hard to finish parts in a predictable manner by controlling the media used (pellets), acid (liquid) quantity/consistence and vibration intervals. These things are extremely loud and also make the whole room vibrate. No one likes working near these things and more often than not these poor machines are sent off to a corner of the shop.
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| The media bin |
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| Close-up of the media pellets |
Now we move on to the paint department and away from the manufacturing side of things. First stop is the Chemical Conversion process. This is the lenghtiest video out of the bunch and also the most popular one.
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| Hot, bubbling acid. NO THANKS. |
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| Conversion tank. |
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| A previously completed piece, note the piece is handled by the edges to minimize contamination |
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| This basket is used for dipping smaller pieces. |
Next up is an open paint booth where Zinc Chromate coating is applied.
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| Finished pieces ready to go in the curing oven. |
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| The curing oven |
The paint booth has a Water Curtain which catches overspray, filters it, and recirculates the water.
No more paint, now let's move onto spot welding station. Here, two pieces of metal are attached together without any hardware.
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| Operator is checking the connections and ensuring everything is ready to go |
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| The finished part |
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| A closer look |
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| Even CLOSER look |
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| The template talked about in the video for more precisely placed spot welds |
Our operator then goes on to test the spot welds manually.
Last short video is of the Shear test machine in the inspection department.
And the official results of the Shear test per MIL-W-6858D
I highly recommend this shop for your aerospace/aviation projects. American Craftsmanship at its finest.
Stay thirsty my friends,
Antonio Suarez
Industrial Designer
