Making critical repairs to aerospace equipment using The SIFCO Process®.

Selective electroplating, such as the SIFCO Process®, can be used to make repairs to airframes, engines, landing gear and parts in situ. Also known as brush plating, this not only improves lead time in critical situations, but also provides corrosion protection, wear-resistance and electrical conductivity, and enhances lubricity, performance and in-service life.

Here are 6 real-life examples of how the SIFCO Process® did just that.

  1. Touch-up on support lugs of a SH-60B Sikorsky Seahawk helicopter

Selective plating significantly reduced downtime by cadmium plating the inside diameter (ID) and faces of the support lugs of a SH-60B Sikorsky Seahawk helicopter in situ.

In a process which took only five minutes per lug, components were cleaned with solvent and a wire brush before being plated with the SIFCO Process®, using brush plating solution Cadmium No Bake 2023, and using FT-40 and ID-10 anodes with cotton jackets.

  1. Anodizing touch-up of lead lag on Lord Corporation helicopter rotor

Due to the heat generated in tank anodizing, a loss of dimension was caused on the ID of the lead lag on the rotor of a Lord Corporation helicopter. To restore the dimension, Lord required re-boring which in turn caused the removal of the anodic coating.

Selective brush anodizing repaired the coating while also improving corrosion protection and lead-times. By using brush anodizing with the SIFCO Process®, 24 parts were able to be processed in one day, compared to almost four days when processed via tank.

  1. Critical plating repairs to Allied Signal Aerospace’s out of tolerance end bells

Here, selective plating allowed non-conforming parts, which were out of acceptable engineering drawing tolerance, to be plated in thicknesses ranging from 0.0002″ to 0.0300″ per side. SIFCO ASC’s technicians were able to plate 0.005″ thickness of Nickel Acid 2080 in 30 carbon steel bores, which were approximately 2″ in diameter by 1/2″ deep.

  1. Nickel plating of Professional Aircraft’s landing gear

Plating two internal bores – 2.7″ diameter x 2.0″ long – of Professional Aircraft’s landing gear was complicated to do through tank plating due to the company’s location. But selective plating with the SIFCO Process® Cadmium LHE® 5070 facilitated the work in place with minimum masking, and to FAA approval.

  1. Critical repairs to port and starboard undercarriage of Boeing 767

During a Type C inspection and overhaul, engineers discovered areas of damaged cadmium on a Boeing 767. Carrying all equipment as hand baggage in a cad plating kit, a SIFCO ASC service technician completed repairs in place within one day, helping keep the overhaul on schedule.

  1. Brush plating repair of a landing gear strut for Boeing aircraft at Aero Asia

A chrome defect was noted at two locations on the landing gear strut – one with a 0.50″ diameter, the other 1.50” diameter x 1.80″ long. After masking, technicians selectively plated both locations with SIFCO Process® Nickel High Speed, LHE® 5644, delivering a fast and effective repair.

Want to know more about SIFCO ASC’s specific brush plating solutions for aerospace? Then you can download our whitepaper here.

For general enquiries about our brush plating services, please contact us here.