The F-35 has a long and illustrious career. Back in 2019 the Joint Program Office and Lockheed Martin wrapped up a $34 billion agreement for the production and delivery of 478 F-35As at the lowest price in the program’s history $77.9 million. A 12.8% price reduction. In 2025 production is estimated at 156.
DTi could help Lockheed save $1.35M on this program by switching just one component, which is far easier and simpler to install and provides best-in-class performance, no failures in 30+ years.
What is this Miracle Component?
Spring-Fast® Grommet Edging Series M22529 – it is fully qualified as an FAA-approved replacement part, and has NAVAIR approval.
The $1.35M savings is based on total install costs – components and direct labor charges.
The legacy glued nylon grommet was patented in the 1940s. It was state-of-the-art at its time, but new technology has eclipsed this slow, messy, and costly process.
The savings are significant because M22529/2 has a far lower direct labor install cost than MS21266 because it:
– Snaps into place without adhesive
– Has superior retentive strength without adhesive
– Allows immediate wire/harness routing – no fixturing or cure time delays (delays are NOT factored into these savings)
Grommets may be small, but they have a big impact on the EWIS. They protect wiring from chafing, arcing, sparking, and fires. In our research, we found that chafing, even at relatively low levels, creates widespread problems.
Based on our years of experience with clients, we find that the biggest single reason (~ 40%) why aircraft were designated as AOG (Aircraft on Ground) or NORS (Non-Operational Ready Status) was equipment discrepancies due to wiring chafe. Power or signals were being affected by simple wiring chafing. As a result, chafe is a significant drag on readiness, availability, and efficiency and impacts medium to long-term operational costs.
The legacy MS21266 grommet relies on a costly, labor-intensive, and multi-step process.
- Multiple items for application and safety are gathered in the preparation phase.
- Edge preparation: abrasion and cleaning are required for proper adhesion.
- Nylon MS21266 has no inherent retentive strength, so it has to be glued to the edge using Pliobond.
- MS21266 tends to straighten (vs. conforming), so tape has to be applied to hold it in place until the glue cures.
- Excess adhesive after curing has to be cleaned with a MEK solvent, cloths, and elbow grease.
- Disbonding happens frequently and leads to rework, increasing the cost of poor quality.
- Over time, the nylon grommet and adhesive are prone to failure from flight stresses.
Why Spring-Fast M22529/2 Is A Better Product
- Fast and easy finger pressure application – it snaps into place without adhesive.
- Proven high performance with a polymer-coated ultra-thin CRES substrate.
- Caterpillar-style opposing finger-like castles exert a compression force for retention without glue.
- Passed 20/20/20 G static load tests – even when 4 castles are cut to provide clearance for an Adel-clamp support clip.
- Minimal FOD footprint – fewer shop consumables used in the install..
- NAVAIR Qualified.
How the Costs Were Calculated
For both grommets, we estimated the time in minutes for each step in the installation operation and used that to calculate the cost per grommet using a $130 WRAP rate.
Installation Cost per grommet Nylon MS21266 $54.62
Installation Cost per grommet Spring-Fast M22529/2 $19.93 (63.5% lower)
This cost was then applied to the number of planes (156) and penetrations (250).
Note: Take a look at the full step-by-step business case here.
Additional Savings – NOT included in the estimate
Scrap: The model compares precut 12.75” strips. However, M22529/2 can be supplied on reels and cut to length with minimal scrap, resulting in a very high yield. In contrast, MS21266 is supplied only as precut strips and has to be cut to fit. For example, on a standard 3″ diameter penetration with a circumference of 9.4″, cutting the 12.75″ strip results in 3.35″ of scrap (26%).
Nylon vs. Teflon: The model assumes the use of low-cost nylon grommets. However, if Teflon grommets are used, the savings will increase as Teflon costs 10 to 28 times more per strip than nylon. Nylon strip costs ~$0.35. Teflon variants can range from $3.50 to $9.95 per strip.
Consumables: MS21266 requires consumables: adhesive, IPA wipes, solvents, fixturing tape, gloves, masks & clean-up cloths. M22529/2 needs only IPA wipes. Fewer consumables yield less general overhead.
Efficiency/Productivity Improvements: Using M22529/2 frees up time to be allocated to other tasks.
– Per grommet, it saves 63.6 minutes. (7.4 mins vs 70 mins)
– Per aircraft with 250 grommets, it saves 265 hours.
– On 156 planes, it will save 41,430 man-hours.
A strong contributor to margin, efficiency, and backlog reduction.
Foreign Object Debris/Damage: M22529/2 reduces FOD as far fewer items have to be taken onto the plane. In addition, pre-cutting the grommets will yield even greater efficiency and less FOD because techs will only need to carry the grommet and an IPA wipe onto the plane – no cutting tools at all.
Find out more about Spring-Fast grommet edging here
