The schematic diagram shows the exact location of the parts manufactured by the structural repair shop of the 173rd Fighter Wing. In the past, this process required a combination of craftsmanship, skill, and time, because each part was made by hand using wooden molds and delicate hammers. This process is something the maintainers at Kingsley Stadium in Klamath Falls, Oregon want to keep, because technology is helping to revolutionize cell-level parts manufacturing. (U.S. Air National Guard photo taken by Master Sgt. Jefferson Thompson)

Sergeant Major November 11, 2021, 173rd Fighter Wing Structural Maintenance Technician Paul Allen created an exact copy of his left plaster mold using modeling software and a scanning camera at Kingsley Field in Klamath Falls, Oregon Taste. This technology allows the creation of precise molds and facilitates the creation of replacement parts in the 173rd Structural Maintenance shop in less than half of the time previously required by the old method. (U.S. Air National Guard photo taken by Master Sgt. Jefferson Thompson)

Sergeant Major's 173rd Fighter Wing Structural Maintenance Technician Paul Allen pointed out a failure of a mold made of dental plaster instead of wood. The structural maintenance team used it to shape the fairing ribs on the F-15C at Kingsley Airport. Klamath Falls, Oregon, November 5, 2021. The maintenance staff found that when metal was formed around the mold with a hammer, it broke immediately. (U.S. Air National Guard photo taken by Master Sgt. Jefferson Thompson)

Sergeant Major On November 5, 2021, Paul Allen, a structural maintenance technician for the 173rd Fighter Wing, puts a part into a "shredder box", a reinforced steel container lined with thick and durable rubber, under extreme pressure The bottom will form the shape of a flat aluminum part. The maintenance staff at Kingsley Stadium in Klamath Falls, Oregon, designed this process to replicate parts that are no longer available in the supply system of this and other units, thereby reducing the cost of manually creating each part individually. (U.S. Air National Guard photo taken by Master Sgt. Jefferson Thompson)

Over the years, structural maintainers have become various craftsmen, hand-crafting parts, carefully shaping them with customized wood forms and exquisite hand tools. They tapped lightly with a small hammer to slowly shape an aviation-grade aluminum plate so that it would slide into the narrow range of the F-15 Eagle's fuselage, with an estimated tolerance of 0.005 inches. This is necessary because of the thousands of parts that make up the F-15C, many of which no longer exist in the supply system—they have existed for decades. "When you need a part, it's a 50-50 lens, and it's there," Master Sgt. said. Paul Allen, structural maintenance technician for the 173rd Fighter Wing. Sergeant Major November 11, 2021, 173rd Fighter Wing Structural Maintenance Technician Paul Allen created an exact copy of his left plaster mold using modeling software and a scanning camera at Kingsley Field in Klamath Falls, Oregon Taste. This technology allows the creation of precise molds and facilitates the creation of replacement parts in the 173rd Structural Maintenance shop in less than half of the time previously required by the old method. (United States Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Jefferson Thompson) Photo details/Download high resolution Master Sgt. Paul Allen, a structural maintenance technician for the 173rd Fighter Wing, pointed out a failure of a mold made of dental plaster instead of wood. The structural maintenance team used it to shape the fairing ribs on the F-15C at Kingsley Airport. Oregon Klamath Falls, November 5, 2021. The maintenance staff found that when metal was formed around the mold with a hammer, it broke immediately. (United States Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Jefferson Thompson) Photo details/Download high resolution Master Sgt. On November 5, 2021, Paul Allen, the structural maintenance technician of the 173rd Fighter Wing, put a part into the "shatter box", which is a reinforced steel container lined with thick and durable rubber, which will be exposed to extreme pressure. Form the shape of a flat aluminum part. The maintenance staff at Kingsley Stadium in Klamath Falls, Oregon designed this process to replicate parts that are no longer available in the supply system of this and other units, thereby reducing the cost of manually creating each part individually. (United States Air National Guard photo taken by Master Sgt. Jefferson Thompson) Photo details/download high resolution One such component is the fairing rib, a semi-circular component, originally stamped from a sheet of aluminum with 3D Relief. When the boom breaks into the aircraft, it is the component that was damaged during the refueling operation-which is a bit common-creating a continuing demand for fairing ribs. Allen and his structural maintenance colleagues produced a new one. First, they covered the part with tape, then carefully cut off a part to provide a rough pattern for the new part, and then painted the part on a piece of new metal. After tracking, they cut it from the paper with hand tools and filed it to match or get as close as possible. Allen said that it is really impossible to achieve 0.005 inches in this way—this is an acceptable tolerance for this part. Now they needed to form this flat piece of metal, so they carefully hammered it to shape it around the mold. First, they tried to use an anhydrite model, but when they hit it with a metal plate, it broke. Nonetheless, they did it, just as they have done for years-after 27 working hours. Today, emerging technologies can shorten this process to seven hours. The first is a better way to evaluate the exact size of the part-enter a brand new scanning arm with a camera and a connected computer, which can perfectly draw parts in three dimensions. The mold was created using the same software and printed using a brand new 3D printer five feet away. This printed part replaces the wooden mold. "We will definitely use innovation to save time and money," Master Sgt. said. Joshua Fuhrer, store supervisor. "If you consider using wood carving tools, it dates back to the 1950s, and now we can print parts in a few hours, which is cutting-edge." And the mold is very strong. It is printed with carbon filament and has proven to be much more durable than wooden molds. The team relied on this power to take advantage of another time-saving technology, the "shatter box." This is technical stuff. Sergeant Michael Jordan brought his experience in Rogue Aerospace Engineering to this store, which he runs and specializes in helicopter repair and parts manufacturing because he does not wear a uniform on weekends. The "Crushing Box" is a reinforced steel box lined with thick rubber pads and closed with a steel reinforced "lid". The rubber used has a very high hardness and is not easily deformed. It is difficult to produce any indentation even with a screwdriver, for example. However, when placed in a 100-ton press, the same rubber flows around the mold in a nearly fluid state, and the accompanying parts can be molded perfectly every time. "It's very valuable to be able to copy parts and get the same results every time," Jordan said. "For the Air Force, it's not just the F-15 fleet." He said the reason it represents the value of the Air Force is because once a part is printed and mapped, these files can be transferred to another unit when the same part needs to be replaced. Allen envisions that in the near future, troops will often share these files, create a platform within the Air Force structure maintenance community, and use initial efforts to "crowdsource" the entire fleet and other regions. He went on to say that he sees no reason to restrict it to professional fields or services, which may benefit the entire Department of Defense.

Sergeant Major November 11, 2021, 173rd Fighter Wing Structural Maintenance Technician Paul Allen created an exact copy of his left plaster mold using modeling software and a scanning camera at Kingsley Field in Klamath Falls, Oregon Taste. This technology allows the creation of precise molds and facilitates the creation of replacement parts in the 173rd Structural Maintenance shop in less than half of the time previously required by the old method. (U.S. Air National Guard photo taken by Master Sgt. Jefferson Thompson)

Sergeant Major's 173rd Fighter Wing Structural Maintenance Technician Paul Allen pointed out a failure of a mold made of dental plaster instead of wood. The structural maintenance team used it to shape the fairing ribs on the F-15C at Kingsley Airport. Klamath Falls, Oregon, November 5, 2021. The maintenance staff found that when metal was formed around the mold with a hammer, it broke immediately. (U.S. Air National Guard photo taken by Master Sgt. Jefferson Thompson)

Sergeant Major On November 5, 2021, Paul Allen, a structural maintenance technician for the 173rd Fighter Wing, puts a part into a "shredder box", a reinforced steel container lined with thick and durable rubber, under extreme pressure The bottom will form the shape of a flat aluminum part. The maintenance staff at Kingsley Stadium in Klamath Falls, Oregon, designed this process to replicate parts that are no longer available in the supply system of this and other units, thereby reducing the cost of manually creating each part individually. (U.S. Air National Guard photo taken by Master Sgt. Jefferson Thompson)