Aviation: Drying Safety Factor

Projects from the aviation industry are among our technical highlights. Firstly, they are rare, and secondly, they are usually challenging in terms of development work and implementing the appropriate solution. Therefore, we were particularly pleased about the inquiry from a European market leader…

To expand capacity, a supplier of civil and military aircraft structures invested in a new electroplating line, including a crack testing system. The complex component geometries and varying dimensions of aircraft structures necessitate a specialized drying concept within an electroplating line and crack testing system.

In the facilities of a globally operating supplier of civil and military aircraft structures, large, complexly shaped components made of aluminum, titanium, and CFRP are developed and manufactured. For a capacity expansion, it was initially considered to have all parts coated and dried by external contractors in the future. However, for components up to 6 meters wide, there were hardly any contract coaters worldwide who could offer these services. Therefore, the aviation company itself invested in a new electroplating line, including a crack testing system. A suitable drying concept still needed to be found for this.

The drying plant manufacturer Harter has been developing condensation dryers with heat pumps for 30 years and has already implemented well over 1000 dryers across various industries. Drying tests conducted with original aviation parts at Harter’s technical center ultimately convinced the aviation company’s project manager of the dryer technology.

Read the complete report here (The article was published in JOT 61 (2021) Special Issue 3, pp. 38-39. Available online at: https://www.springerprofessional.de/en/luftfahrt-sicherheitsfaktor-trocknung/19211822)

Featured image: © Ilja MaöÌk, Fotolia