AMT_June-July_2021 - 35

after that because if there's anything left it will not paint well. It
is terrible work to do also. I mean, there are some chemicals in
paint like Chrome 6 is really dangerous to get inside your body, "
Boeijink continued.
The Laser Coating Removal Robot reduces CO2 emissions as well.
" The reduction in CO2 from a standard job on a 777 is from more
than 40 tons of CO2 to 14 tons of CO2, " he said.
Composite structures in new aircraft design can't support the use
of chemicals and complex primers anymore, which is one reason
why Xyrec's technology is so useful. The Laser Coating Removal
Robot allows for the selective removal of layers of paint without
damaging the aircraft.
" The aircraft developed in the last 10 years have a lot more composites
than classical aircraft, " Boeijink said. " The 787 and the
Airbus 350 - their fuselage is composites. Not in every place but
80 percent of fuselage is composites, " he continued, mentioning
these composite pieces must be stripped by hand.
Boeijink said some operations put an additional, intermediate
coat of paint on the aircraft to be able to use the paint stripping
chemicals on composite materials.
" That's the solution they do, " he said. " I'm not aware that it really
works. There's a lot of disadvantages here. You need an additional
layer of paint, which is weight and weight is not a good idea on an
aircraft. It costs you a lot of money. "
Boeijink mentioned this strategy is risky because employees
must apply the chemicals to the composites not knowing if there
will be damage.
" You apply the chemicals and then you wait a day and then you
have to wait and see where there is damage or not. The uncertainty
you don't really like, " he said.
Repainting the Aircraft
Xyrec developed the Laser Coating Removal Robot concept between
2010 and 2014 and built it between 2015 and 2021. Shortly after, in
2014, the company invented the Automated Paint Robot to paint
aircraft more quickly and efficiently.
Boejink noted more airlines want to do decoration with more colors
and intricate logos, but it takes time airlines don't have. This
technology, which functions like a massive inkjet printer, will make
more extravagant decoration possible.
" All aircraft are becoming more and more decorated. You see
aircraft in only two or three colors like big carriers in the U.S. or
big carriers in Europe. And you see other companies like Alaska
Air that has decorations on the aircraft, " he said, mentioning some
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