Aerospace
Aviation Radome Fixture
A scan-designed fixture for masking and marking lightning strip locations on an aircraft radome — cutting install time from 4 hours to 1.5.
- Client
- Private client
- Timeline
- 3 weeks
- Deliverables
- Masking and marking fixture, Scan-based fixture design
The problem
Lightning strip locations on the radome were laid out by hand, with manual measurements on every install. It was slow, and the result depended on whoever held the tape.
Constraints
No existing CAD for the radome. The fixture had to locate every strip repeatably, match the manufacturing drawings, and pack down into a storage box between uses.
Development approach
3D scanned the radome to design against its real geometry, designed the fixture around it, iterated through prototypes, then produced the final fixture in its production material.
Marking where lightning strips go on a radome sounds simple until it’s done by hand on every install. Each location was measured manually, which took hours and left the result depending on the person doing it.
Designing without a drawing
There was no CAD for the radome, so we started by 3D scanning it. Designing against the real surface let the fixture sit exactly where it needs to on the part, with every strip location built into the geometry rather than measured each time.
Iterate, then make it for real
The fixture went through prototype iterations to settle fit and location accuracy, then the final version was made in its production material. It also had to be practical in the shop: it packs down into a storage box between jobs.
The result
Checked against the manufacturing drawings, the fixture puts every marking where the drawings say it goes. With no manual measuring, install time fell from 4 hours to 1.5 — and every radome now comes out the same.
Validation
Checked against the manufacturing drawings of the required marking locations.
The outcome
Install time dropped from 4 hours to 1.5 hours because no manual measurement is needed, and every radome is marked the same way — faster, more repeatable, more consistent.
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