Paint & Coating Operations Steve Allen P60 29 March 2016 Paint & Coating Operations

Background Painting and de-painting is MDMCs biggest “choke point.” The MDMC steam, blast, and painting operations and facilities are basically all manual and labor intensive which result in high labor costs for our customers. These work centers also represent the biggest production constraint within the two plants. Production lines can be delayed waiting on components and/or vehicles to be processed through these manual processes. In order to increase throughput, the Coatings Branch work centers operate two shifts per day and both shifts employ overtime on each shift providing approximately 22 to 23 hours per day of production, 6 to 7 days a week. Even though some of the equipment has been renovated recently, MDMC still experiences too much down time due to equipment and facility failures.

Substrates/Paint Specifications Zinc Rich Wet Mils Dry Mils Primer Topcoat MIL-A-12560 Zinc Rich, A-A-59745 5.0 min 2.5 min MIL-DTL-53030 4.4-6.0 1.5 minimum CARC, MIL-DTL-53039, TY III(ext) 3.1-3.8 1.8-2.5 N/A   Powder, MIL-PRF-32348 CARC, MIL-PRF-22750 (int) 2.8-3.1 1.5-2.5 CARC, MIL-DTL-64159 (ext) 3.8-4.9 1.8-2.3 STEEL, A-36 6061 AL MIL-STD-46100

Current Depainting Process Almondite Garnet blast is currently the preferred method of de-painting Blast booths (6) are multimedia Using a pressure vessel for paint stripping of some components Also use some steel shot and glass beads for small components Blast grit is our largest waste stream Vast majority of workload consists of heavy steel, armor and aluminum Issues Geometry challenges Failure of equipment Multiple blast cycles High cycle time and labor intensive Substrate damage is not an issue; must remove corrosion and create surface profile

Past De-Painting Efforts N-Methyl Pyrolidone - 2000 Pressure Stripper – 2001 (implemented) Lactate Esters -2001 Turco 6776 – 2001 Ice Stripping – 2002 Electrostrip (CTC) – 2002 SERDP Depaint Project – 2003 Walnut Hulls Alumina Zirconia Plastic Media Steel Shot Flashjet HP Water Blasting – 2000, 2006 Sponge Blasting – 2004 (implemented) Tert Butyl Acetate (TBAc) – 2005 Cryogenic Paint Removal – 2005 Corn Hybrid (NDCEE) – 2006 ARL Surface Prep Project – 2006 Various (6) paint stripping products EMMA Blasting – 2008 Laser Stripping (various funding programs) – 2001 2004 2008 2014 2016

Past Painting Efforts Numerous on-site demonstrations of CARC coatings Joint Robotic Painting Project – Barstow – 2005 Partners – CTMA, ARL, Red River Army Depot (RRAD) Automated Powder Coating Line (SERDP Project) Conveyor line Batch booth Implemented Zinc Rich Primer (A-A-59745) on steel substrates STAR4D painter trainer

Recent De-Painting Efforts REPTECH PROJECT (FY16) March 8-9 2016 – Project kick-off meeting with the REPTECH Program. Goal of the project is to conduct an on-site evaluation of all Paint and Coating (including blasting) equipment and processes to identify potential areas of modernization. BLAST BOOTH RENOVATION (6) Improved ergonomics (painting & lighting, new dust collectors) Improved grit recovery system (augered entire floor) Changed nozzles ON-SITE DEMO Preparing to conduct a trial demonstration of the new MIL-PRF- 22750 Type III (interior) Partnered with industry and the Army Research Lab PAINTING Changed over to conventional guns that are more compact light r with enhanced transfer efficiency.

Path Forward MDMC will partner with various academic, industry and DoD research programs to identify available technologies that will provide automation, equipment upgrades and process improvements that will result in increased production, reduced labor costs, and less down time. Based upon the results of the upcoming REPTECH Project, MDMC will re-evaluate short term and long term strategies to meet these goals.

Questions?