The Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aviation Plant (KnAAZ) named after Yu. A. Gagarin has modernized the titanium processing line in the electroplating shop. Specialists have integrated new, larger baths for processing large parts, according to the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC).
The shop is designed for dimensional chemical etching, brightening and loosening after heat treatment, as well as titanium anodizing. At the design stage of the new aircraft factory building, the question arose of combining similar processes under one roof.
The head of the shop, Zhanna Petrovskaya, noted that the work took almost a year. And if the lines for brightening and loosening titanium after heat treatment were launched quickly, anodizing was not easy.
Suppliers had to correct shortcomings in the equipment so that it met our requirements. The most difficult thing was to obtain a thick film: thin layers worked immediately, but here we encountered nuances.
As a result, the company was helped by consultations with colleagues from Irkutsk, where there is already similar equipment. Now all the electroplating equipment at KnAAZ is working without failures.
It should be noted that Komsomolsk-on-Amur regularly modernizes production facilities. For example, in November 2025, they introduced an anodizing bath cooling system using winter cold.
As a reminder, KnAAZ is the main manufacturer of the fifth-generation Su-57 and the fourth-generation Su-35S fighters. The plant has already been loaded with orders until 2030.