Project Name: High-Capacity Paint Booth Gas-to-Electric Conversion

Facility:
Aerospace Manufacturing Facility
Southern California

Scope:
Control Engineering, Inc. was selected to convert a large industrial aerospace paint booth from gas-fired combustion heating to a high-capacity electric heating system while modernizing the full controls architecture.

The system required replacing a combustion-based heating platform with an electric heating system capable of delivering approximately 2.27 million BTU/hr of process heat to support aerospace paint and bake cycles.

Work included:

• Removal of gas burners and associated combustion components
• Installation of multi-stage electric heating elements totaling ~2.25 MW
• SCR-based power modulation for precision thermal control
• Upgrade to Allen-Bradley CompactLogix PLC
• Deployment of Ignition Edge industrial HMI
• Integration with facility BMS via BACnet over TCP/IP
• Integration of ABB VFDs for supply and exhaust air control
• New RTDs, humidity sensors, and airflow instrumentation
• UL 508 control panel fabrication
• Commissioning and validation of paint and bake modes

System:
The upgraded system delivers controlled airflow and temperature for aerospace coating operations under strict environmental requirements.

Key performance characteristics:

• Heating capacity: ~2.27 MMBTU/hr equivalent
• Electric heating capacity: ~2.25 MW
• Operating temperature range: 75°F to150°F
• Typical bake setpoint: 140°F
• Airflow compliance maintained for both paint and bake modes
• Closed-loop PID temperature regulation via SCR modulation
• Ethernet/IP networked PLC architecture
• BACnet integration to facility BMS

SCR controllers provide proportional control of heater output to maintain precise thermal stability while protecting equipment through high-limit temperature interlocks and safety logic enforcement.

Benefit:
The conversion eliminated combustion heating while maintaining equivalent thermal output capacity required for aerospace coatings.

Results include:

• Equivalent BTU performance with electric precision control
• Improved temperature stability and uniformity
• Reduced combustion-related maintenance
• Enhanced safety through modern interlocks and monitoring
• Modern, supportable Rockwell-based automation platform
• Scalable infrastructure for future upgrades

This project demonstrates CEI's ability to engineer and commission multi-megawatt electrification systems in regulated aerospace environments while maintaining process integrity and airflow compliance.