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Show B Continued from Page 1 The program began making an impact with the first visit. Putalavage said. Engineers were able to see improvements they could instantly make in systems. from conception But because of the long often to production of modern defense systems 15 years the full impact of Blue Two visits are Advanced just now beginning to be felt in the aircraft Tactical Fighter and protransport of still in which are both the testing phase. grams, used the same The first prototype of the Fighting canopy and ejection seat as does the Falcon. The seat and canopy are very effective in their functions, but there is one problem with the design, the chief said. The hinge that fastens the canopy to the plane would not open wide enough to allow removal of the seat. That means that every time the ejection seat had to be removed or fixed, the canopy also had to be s and removed, which required an extra six the use of a small crane. Plus, there is always the risk of damaging the canopy during removal. Engineers learned of this problem during Blue Two visits, went back to the drawing board and redesigned the canopy hinge to allow removal of the ejection seat without removing the canopy. The will have the new production model of the r' 1- - fib ' :: fV lead-tim- e F-2- 2 C-1- 7 F-2- 2 F-1- 6 n ( 1 u ( f man-hour- F-2- Shop talk 2 John Wilde, a representative from Westinghouse Electric Corp., the company that builds some of the said he picked up some valuable radar for the information from his Blue Two visit. "We found that some of our connecting cables weren't long enough to be easily removed," Wilde said, "and sometimes the cables are routed through an area that the plug can't be taken back through ' once everything's in place. "These are things you wouldn't ever find out if you didn't come out here and talk to the people who work on these systems on a daily basis." The Center for Supportability and Technology In- - ings of a 20mm Gatling gun to a group of gineers on a Blue Two visit. sertion schedules six Blue Two visits each year, but cost of the system," Putalavage said. Including acquisition people on the visits has helped reduce and simplify the jet mechanic's toolbox of the future. "Years ago we allowed contractors to design any type of fastener they wanted to use in their systems. And if they needed, they could also build a tool to install it or remove it," Putalavage said. "Now the tools are standardized and the fasteners are standardized, so the mechanic's toolbox will be substantially smaller. We'll see savings in money spent for tools, parts and even airlift during cost-effecti- . Ooiy Moicr. Bob Lewis (right), a weapons repair mechanic in the Commodities Directorate, explains the work- because of demand they do nine. And the center still has a waiting list. to Another benifit is the program is the government. Companies pay all the expenses for their employees during the tours. The visits also include government acquisition people, who define the capabilities and design specifications that the contractors must meet. "If we don't include the acquisition people, we may not get the weapon systems we need. We must have the reliability and maintainability built into the e systems as much as possible to reduce the F-1- 6, Continued from Page 1 less time than it would take to award a contract to commercial industry." The castings the shop makes undergo stringent quality control and testmagnetic particle ing such as chemical analysis, mechaninspection, ical tensile testing and dimensional inspection. For example, the brackets for the 6 were made from super- hardened stainless steel which has a strength of 150,000 pounds per square inch. Castings are widely used because complex parts can be produced in large numbers while maintaining close ..M...ri.mn.ihr.A..A.M Pnoto rilfcll Dy hinge. ' ' .J,S life-cycl- en- deployment." D if if,.1 ' : ii X-ra- y, A,, f " F-1- tolerances. ' I j rf j I J ' :i V 1 1 I . - SL:' I At the moment, the shop is making oxygen tank brackets for the system of an aluminum alloy and very light weight, is thin that hundredth of an inch thickness for the entire part,' yet the metal still maintains a strength of 40,000 pounds per square inch. Production of castings is an intricate and sophisticated process that requires using many different processes and types of equipment. First an aluminum mold is cut to blueprint specifications, then wax is injected under pressure into the mold. ' 1 1 ; 5 T T 4 .f p ' - j f v 1 if? J it A ,1 S ; ''X- -' ;! if Sf i-- - s F-1- 6 ' starter one-on- e This process provides the initial shape of the casting. Wax patterns are made for every casting produced. The individual wax shapes are later attached to a large "runner" system so the castings can be processed in batches. - V - I- - - - y Bill Pasell (top), a pattern maker, wears insulated clothing as he F. burnout furnace. Scott Peterstands in front of the son (right), also a pattern maker, dips a cluster of wax forms into fine-grai- n produced. Steel requires a harder shell than aluminum, for example. After the ceramic shells are formed, pressurized steam is used to melt all the wax inside the shells, leaving a hollow ceramic cluster of parts which are Hilltop Times Published by MorMedia, Inc., a private firm in no way connected with the U.S. Air Force, under exclusive written contract with Hill AFB. This commercial enterprise Air Force newspaper is an authorized publication for members of the U.S. military services. Contents of the Hilltop Times are not necessarily the official views of. or endorsed by, the U.S. government, the Department of Defense or the Department of the Air Force. then put in an oven at temperatures reaching 1,900 degrees Fahrenheit to cure and stabilize. At the same time the shells are being cured, metal is melted in an induction furnace at temperatures ranging from 1,300 to 3,000 degrees F., depending on the alloy being poured. The hot cluster of parts is pulled from the oven and placed on a pouring bed, and a second operator pours the molten metal into the cluster of pat- - The appearance of advertisements in this publication, including inserts or supplements, does not constitute endorsement by the Department of the Air Force or MorMedia, Inc. of the products or services advertised. Everything advertised in this publication shall be made available for purchase, use or patronage without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, physical handicap, political affiliation or any other nonmerit factor of the purchaser, user or patron. Editorial content is edited, prepared and provided by the Ogden Air Logistics Center Public Affairs Office staff. Bldg. 1102. Room 118. Ext. 77321. Unless otherwise indicated, all photos are U.S. Air Force photos. ' - v 'A 1900-degre- e liquid ceramic. The wax patterns are dipped into a liquid ceramic, then coated with a laysand. This process is er of repeated for as many times as is necessary to form a shell of sufficient strength for the kind of alloy being ' terns. After the metal cools, the ceramic, is knocked from the parts, leaving only the metal casting. Then the castings are separated from the runner and put through a series of heat treatments, straightening and dimensional inspection operations until they meet the specified criteria. Nickerson said the investment casting facility is designed to produce both large- - and Hill AFB small-productio- runs. n Editorial Staff t Maj. Gn. Dalt W. Thompson Jr Maj. Wodt J. Habthty Gary Hatch SSgt. Barbara FiiW Francts Kosakowsky, Lisa Colgat Commands, OO-AL- C Dirtctor, Public Affairs Editor Assistant ta'itor ..Staff writtrs Dadlinit Editorial and "Around tht Hill" ittms, 3 p.m. Tutsday, nint days bfor publication; sports crticUs, 9 o.m. Monday, wttk of publication; classified ads, noon Tuesday, wtk of publication. For mora Information, call tho editors, Exts. |