Over time the instrument panel of any aircraft or practically anything for that matter will deteriorate with age. Factory replacement panels can prove to be very costly not to mention putting you right back in the position to have to replace it again in a few years. Panel Pro™ has developed a revolutionary machine which cut instrument panels with great precision.
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The Panel Pro™ is a computer controlled router optimized for aluminum sheet metal 1/8″ thick. It is at home in avionics shops, Completion centers, or any where complex routing is required. It has an x axis (width) travel of 56 inches, y axis (height) travel of 24 inches, and a z axis (up and down) travel of 2.5 inches. With multiple passes, aluminum as thick as 1/2″ can be cut.
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The primary intended material is aluminum alloys, however any material that is free machining and suitable for fast spindle speeds and light cuts will work just fine. Plastics such as Plexiglas cut very readily. Woods can be cut, but there is a coolant system to flush chips away, and at the present, no vacuum system. Even dead soft aluminum can be machined by slowing Z plunge rate pneumatics and x/y axis feed rates. The coolant system lubricates the end mill to keep material from building up on it.
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Move resolution is .0001968 of an inch (in layman’s terms, just around two ten thousands of an inch). The lead screws have a maximum error of +/- .004″ per foot. The accuracy of cut lines is affected to some degree by the flexing of the 1/8 inch carbide end mill. Using a rough and fine cut, hole diameters can be held to better than .002″ with a very light burr and good surface finish. Each Panel Pro™ 5624a is laser measured for lead screw accuracy and stored in a file. This file is used to zero out lead screw error. The 5624 has hard stops on the right side so that the squareness can be checked and reset easily.
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While Instrument panels are it’s specialty, the Panel Pro™ is equally at home fabricating brackets, doublers, switch and connector plates, flat pattern mounting trays, and even honeycomb material. Optional engraving hardware is available. You can use the Panel Pro™to digitize panels with the measure pro accessory.
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Let Panel Pro take the guess work out of your next instrument panel and let Hawk Aviation Maintenance help you with your panel. The staff at Hawk Aviation Maintenance is highly trained with The Panel Pro and can design, Fabricate and install your next panel. Give them a call at 706-659-4254 or visit them on the web at http://hawkav.com/index.html
