Fastener Removal Improvement Technology Adoption (FRITA)
NCMS Project #: 140471
Problem: Fastener removal is a task required for all aspects of aircraft maintenance, from simple repairs to major modification and SLEP (Service Life Extension Program) efforts. The current approach to fastener removal requires the use of standard twist drills to separate the fastener head and body for removal. This method is extremely labor intensive, has traditionally resulted in high damage rates, and presents a number of serious ergonomic dangers. The commonly accepted side effects of the existing method include low productivity, structure damage, noise, repetitive motion and eye injuries, and the FOD hazard to equipment and personnel resulting from thousands of drill shards.
Benefit: The FRITA project will accelerate DoD realization of these savings by creating a blueprint for adoption of this technology. The benefits of such a blueprint include simplification of deployment and elimination of redundancies and ambiguities in approval and certification processes.
The vision is that this project may serve as a model for coordinating communication between locations and Services for more rapid technology insertion.
Solution/Approach: The proposed technology solution is a handheld implementation of EDM (Electro-Discharge Machining) technology that cuts a circular groove into the head of a fastener to a depth corresponding to the head thickness. After cutting, a thin fillet of material is left between the fastener head and shank; this fillet is easily fractured when the cut fastener is struck with a hammer and punch. The cutting process produces a fine particulate debris that is flushed away and captured by a closed-loop fluid handling system, resulting in a fast clean cut whose only remnants are the fastener head and body.
Impact on Warfighter:
- Reduction in fastener removal cycle time.
- Achieve accuracies that significantly reduce the rate of damage incurred.
- Reduced operator fatigue.
- Elimination of noise pollution and hazards to personnel and equipment from drill shard.
- Cost savings to logistics operations.
- Established training and usage standards.
DOD Participation:
- U.S. Navy (FRC Southwest)
- U.S. Navy (FRC East)
- U.S. Army (CCAD)
- U.S. Army (AMRDEC)
- U.S. Air Force (WR-ALC)
- U.S. Air Force (OO-ALC)
Industry Participation:
- Perfect Point EDM
- NCMS