Boot Disbond Improvement

The objective of this Composites Manufacturing Technology Center (CMTC) effort was to address two of the high drivers for boot disbonds and liquid epoxy process improvements. The Lockheed Martin Aeronautics (LM-Aero) team developed two manufacturing technologies to address these drivers. The selected technologies that were developed for complicated boots were Liquid Epoxy Mix on Demand and Vacuum Bagging Tools.

In addition to the technologies to support boot bonding process improvements and boot disbonds, LM-Aero collaborated with the Electro-Optics Center (EOC) managed by Pennsylvania State University’s Applied Research Lab (ARL) to develop an inspection system capable of identifying and quantifying boot disbonds.

For this effort, LM-Aero developed the following technologies for complex boots to provide boot disbond improvements such as boot disbond inspection system; liquid epoxy mix on demand system; and custom molded boot vacuum bagging tools. Following the completion effort, Lockheed Martin made recommendations to transition the manufacturing and inspection technologies to be implemented within the F-35 Lightning II production line to reduce boot disbonds and provide improved liquid epoxy mixing and boot inspection. The successful development of these proposed technologies has the potential to provide $9.7M in production savings for the program.

Lockheed Martin is in the process of seeking both F-35 Lightning II Affordability and Program Non-Recurring funding for implementation. If this effort is approved for implementation through the Affordability program, all cost and savings data will be tracked through the Affordability program. Each fiscal year, all projects are evaluated based on progress, established technology gates and/or Kaizen events to ensure projects meet floating requirements, such as benefit to the program, return on investment, and savings. If this effort does not require Affordability funding for implementation, then other LM-Aero internal investments (e.g., Internal R&D, Capital, Contract funds) will be used to support implementation outside the scope of Affordability.

*Prepared under ONR Contract N00014-21-D-7001 as part of the Navy ManTech Program.

*DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A. Approved for public release: distribution unlimited. DCN# 2024-11-6-309; Approval Date: 11/14/2024