Spin it to win it: McConnell AFB innovation

A 3D-printed tool designed by a Team McConnell maintainer is helping Airmen refinish aircraft wheels faster by allowing them to rotate the wheels while painting, eliminating hours of drying time between coats.

Designed and built by Master Sgt. Jonathon Holle, 931st Maintenance Squadron aircraft metals technician, the dual-axis spinning stand features a 3D-printed wheel adapter. The device secures aircraft wheel halves in place, allowing maintainers to rotate them 360 degrees in two directions during the painting process.

Before the design's implementation, painters at the base placed wheel halves flat on tables. They sprayed one side, waited up to eight hours for the primer or topcoat to dry, then flipped the component to paint the opposite side.

"Normally you're just waiting-you're literally watching paint dry. This invention eliminates that wait time.” Holle said.

The stand utilizes a 3D-printed wheel-shaped adapter which fits inside the wheel's bearing race, connecting the component to a steel frame with built-in counterweights. The mechanism holds the wheel balanced in any position, removing wet-paint contact with flat surfaces and preventing the need for touch-ups.

A quick-release pin allows maintainers to remove the freshly painted wheel via steel tube and transfer it directly to a drying rack in the center of the spray booth. This frees the main frame to mount and paint another wheel immediately.

According to Holle, the wheel finishing was improved by nearly 400 percent, erasing up to 48 hours of downtime for each wheel set and creating a more productive shop by deleting scuff marks and ensuring a higher quality finish, as well as getting rid of the need to set wheels on tables and other surfaces for painting. This innovation allows for fewer touchups, and Airmen are now able to finish the painting process in one go.

Holle, who entered the U.S. Air Force in 1992 and has served 34 years across active duty, the Air National Guard, and the Air Force Reserve, created the prototype in response to a challenge from paint shop supervisors.

“The reason this came about was one of the NCOs casually said one day, ‘Hey, you know it'd be cool if you could take one of these wheels and spin it in space.’ It sounded like it was a challenge, so I took it on and I think it ended up working pretty well,” Holle said.

While the adapter is 3D-printed, the rest of the unit was constructed in-house using a steel plate and tubing cuts with a high-pressure waterjet.

The stand has been used continuously for four years at McConnell Air Force Base to process wheels for KC-46 Pegasus tankers and other aircraft. Maintainers at the base previously submitted another of Holle's designs-a folding step for aircraft maintenance stands-to the Air Force Spark Tank innovation competition, leading to its adoption across multiple bases. Holle believes this wheel will also help his wingmen across the world strengthen proficiency in the tanker enterprise.