NASA Welding Engineer Addresses PIA, Shares New Technology
by J. Aaron 4Q AMT
Mr. Robert Jeffrey Ding, an Aerospace Welding Engineer for NASA, gave a presentation to PIA students and faculty on October 1, 2007. He shared information on the latest welding techniques that promise to take astronauts "back to the Moon, to Mars, and beyond".
Mr. Ding's initial overview of the older methods, including "fusion" and "electron beam" welding, led him into a discussion of experimental, state-of-the-art processes that are currently being developed at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
"Variable Polarity Plasma Arc", "Thermal Stir", and "Ultrasonic Stir Welding" are being designed to eliminate many common weld defects and to simplify tooling. This will greatly reduce cost and increase both safety and the rate of production.
Mr. Ding went on to explain that Eclipse Aviation is utilizing some of these new technologies on the airframe of their innovative Eclipse 500 Very Light Jet (VLJ). The process will replace 7,330 drag-inducing rivets along the airframe with 263 welds which will boost the aircraft's performance. The company also expects the additional benefits of decreasing production cost and making airframe inspections faster and easier.