U.S. Airmen with the 60th Maintenance Squadron (MXS) at Travis Air Force Base in California are testing neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) lasers to remove paint, primer, corrosion, and rust more efficiently than traditional sanding and blasting, says Staff Sgt. Bennie E. Rizzo III, aircraft structural maintenance supervisor.
Sanding and blasting put carcinogens in the air, Rizzo explains. The laser, however, has a built-in vacuum. As it removes the substrate, it sucks up the particles and keeps them out of the air.
“One of the big pulls for getting the lasers was that it was marketed as being able to be used without a respirator,” Rizzo says. “We use a primer that has chromate in it. One of the big things about these lasers is they minimize our waste stream significantly.”
“The lasers far surpass the old methods in the hazardous waste arena,” Rizzo adds. “I think the laser systems are going to be the way of the future.”
The Travis shop was selected to test the capabilities of the lasers and develop a training plan, as well as determine what personal protective equipment is required to operate the technology. The 60th MXS will test the lasers over the next two years.
“Because it’s new, we’re developing the training plan and we’re developing the personal protective equipment requirements,” says Master Sgt. Brian Horak, the 60th MXS aircraft structural maintenance section chief. “We have to fill out documentation every time we use a laser on a piece of equipment, then we use the traditional way on another piece of equipment. We document what we save for hazardous waste and how much time we saved, if we saved anything at all, and then send that up to the Air Force.”
The lasers offer the Air Force other capabilities on top of a healthier and safer work environment.
“In the past, we really didn’t have an effective way to take rust off, and this addresses that need to extend the life of equipment,” Horak says.