Aerospace

Application of industrial cleaning equipment in the production and maintenance of aerospace parts
The aerospace field has extremely high requirements for part precision, reliability, and safety. During production and maintenance, even minute impurities or contaminants on parts can affect the performance of aircraft. Industrial cleaning equipment, with its efficient and precise cleaning capabilities, has become crucial for ensuring part quality. Below, we will discuss its application in these two stages.
I. Application in the production process of aerospace parts
(1) Removal of processing impurities
The processing of aerospace parts is complex, leaving behind metal debris, processing fluids, oil stains, oxide films, and other impurities on the part surface. High-pressure cleaning machines utilize high-pressure water jet technology. A high-pressure pump pressurizes water to tens or even hundreds of megapascals, which is then converted into a high-speed water jet by the nozzle, effectively removing impurities. For example, when manufacturing aircraft engine blades, high-pressure cleaning machines can remove metal debris left from milling, preventing it from falling off in high-temperature, high-pressure environments, damaging the engine interior, and ensuring the surface quality and aerodynamic performance of the blades.
(2) Ensuring part precision
For precision aerospace parts, such as aircraft bearings and gyroscope components, tiny surface impurities or defects can affect operational precision and stability. Ultrasonic cleaning machines are based on the principle of high-frequency vibration, generally operating at 20kHz - 40kHz. When acting on the cleaning solution, cavitation bubbles are produced, and their collapse generates shock waves and microjets, capable of removing micron-level dirt and impurities without damaging the precise structure. After ultrasonic cleaning, the surface roughness of aircraft bearings can be reduced to below Ra0.1μm, improving part mating precision and rotational flexibility to meet high-precision requirements.
(3) Cleaning before surface treatment
Before aerospace parts undergo surface coating, anodizing, and other treatments, the surface must be absolutely clean; otherwise, it will affect the adhesion and protective performance of the coating. Vacuum cleaning equipment uses organic solvent vapor to clean parts in a low-pressure environment. Under vacuum conditions, the boiling point of the organic solvent is lowered, allowing it to quickly evaporate and penetrate into tiny gaps and holes, dissolving and removing impurities. For example, before anodizing aircraft landing gear parts, vacuum cleaning equipment can thoroughly remove oil and dirt, making the anodizing film bond more firmly to the substrate, improving the landing gear's corrosion resistance and service life.
II. Application in the maintenance process of aerospace parts
(1) Removing oil stains and carbon deposits
After long-term operation of aircraft engines, internal parts such as combustion chamber components, turbine blades, and fuel injectors accumulate a large amount of oil stains and carbon deposits, affecting combustion efficiency, power output, and even causing malfunctions. High-pressure cleaning machines, combined with special oil stain cleaning agents, can efficiently clean these parts. The synergistic effect of high-pressure water jets and cleaning agents can quickly dissolve and flush away oil stains and carbon deposits. For severely carbon-deposited areas, the agent can first soften the deposits before being removed by high-pressure water jets. After cleaning, the engine parts can restore their surface smoothness and thermal conductivity, reducing fuel consumption by 5% - 10%, improving performance and reliability.
(2) Removing rust
Aerospace parts are often exposed to complex environments and are susceptible to corrosion and rust, such as aircraft fuselage structural components and aviation pipelines. Ultra-high-pressure cleaning machines can reach pressures exceeding 1000 bar. Through specially designed nozzles, high-pressure water is converted into concentrated water jet kinetic energy, which can destroy the adhesion between the rust layer and the substrate, efficiently removing rust. Compared with sandblasting, ultra-high-pressure water rust removal is dust-free, causes less damage to the substrate, and has high efficiency, processing tens of square meters per hour. It can also improve the surface roughness of parts and enhance the adhesion of subsequent anti-corrosion coatings.
(3) Post-maintenance parts cleaning and inspection assistance
After maintenance of aerospace parts, a thorough cleaning is required to remove residual impurities, oil stains, welding slag, etc. Industrial cleaning equipment ensures that the cleanliness of the parts meets strict industry standards. The clean surface of the parts facilitates quality inspection. For example, when using non-destructive testing techniques (ultrasonic flaw detection, X-ray flaw detection, etc.) to detect cracks and internal defects in parts, a clean surface improves the accuracy and reliability of detection, allowing for the timely discovery of safety hazards and ensuring maintenance quality and safe operation of aircraft.
Industrial cleaning equipment is indispensable in the production and maintenance of aerospace parts. From ensuring initial production quality to ensuring performance restoration after maintenance, different types of industrial cleaning equipment work together to provide strong technical support for the safety and development of the aerospace industry, contributing to continuous technological advancements in the industry.