News & Press
Heat Gun--A Hot Issue with the Fleet
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by Dan Preissman, AWIS Team Leader
Maintaining the wiring systems
of a modern aircraft is no easy job under the best of conditions.
Adding in the urgency and commotion of life on the flight lines
makes this work even more demanding. One critical way to make
this job manageable is to provide the technicians with the
proper and most convenient tools available. This support task
falls to the Aircraft Wiring Support Equipment (AWSE) Commodity
at NAWCAD Lakehurst. Presently, routine wire repair tasks involving
solder sleeves and shrink tubing require using a heat gun with
an inordinately long set-up time, inviting the use of unauthorized
and at times unsafe alternative heating methods. When the cry
came out for something better, the AWSE Commodity talked to
manufacturers who eagerly responded with lightweight, multi-speed,
and variable temperature devices. They still left the maintenance
crews with a length of cord in need of a source of power from
the aircraft or a mobile generator cart. The reality was clear
that it was time to "cut the cord" on the heat gun
and provide a truly self-contained portable tool powered by
a battery.
This "reality" was not
so evident to the manufacturers who didn't see the feasibility
of powering an energy hungry heating element with a battery,
and its marketing practicality even if it could be done.
One company, Malcom Corporation
of Andover, Massachusetts, eventually stepped forward with
a commitment to give this idea a try. With inputs from the
Wiring Commodity, the Fleet, and Malcom Corporation's ingenuity,
things started to take shape. Malcom, which represents the
Leister heat tool company, took a Leister-made DC motor housed
in a high impact ABS plastic case, matched it with batteries
currently fielded in government equipment, and packaged them
in a rugged carrying case with a shoulder strap.
The tool meets the Fleet's request
for a lightweight unit (13 ounces) without fancy indicators
and controls. It will deliver air at about 1000oF for 25 -
30 minutes on a full charge. The battery pack (less than 10
pounds) consists of two 24 volt "smart" Nickel Metal
Hydride batteries of the type tested at the Crane, Indianapolis
labs, and in use by the U.S. Army in field communications equipment.
They are made with patented electronics to control charge and
discharge rates including shutdown protection if short-circuited.
A continuous LED array indicates remaining charge capacity,
and they can be fully recharged in only two hours.
The universal charger is used
with an adapter to accommodate two batteries at one time. It
gives continuous status of the charge cycle including full
charge, trickle charge, and battery fault condition. It will
work on most AC power sources found worldwide including 400
Hz, as well as 24VDC.
The tool meets the radiated emissions
requirements stated in MIL-STD-461C.
The batteries can be used for about 500 charge/discharge cycles, the ruggedized
ceramic-encapsulated heating element can be changed within a few minutes, and
the DC motor has an MTBF of several hundred hours, all contributing to a tool
with a long expected service life. The AWSE team is working with test labs
to complete the operational tests for a jet fuel environment. These should
be completed in July of 1999. The logistical and provisioning work is also
being addressed.
This heat gun "package" will
become one of the many self contained portable hand tools provided
to the wiring technician in addition to providing the convenience
and reliability for the dedicated crews who have the job of
keeping the Navy's aircraft always ready for flight.
For more information contact:
Malcom Hot Air Systems
Don Brown, Product Manager
590 Fish Road
Tiverton, RI 02878
(800) 289-7505 Fax (401) 624-3081
e-mail: info@malcom.com
www.militaryheatguns.com
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