How FastEDR Eliminates FOD and Swarf: A Technical Look
In MRO maintenance, even a grain-sized metal chip can mean a borescope inspection, a teardown, or a destroyed engine.
FOD (Foreign Object Debris) and swarf (metal shavings from drilling and machining) are two of the biggest contamination risks during fastener removal.
Here, we’re outlining how FastEDR is engineered to produce zero FOD and zero swarf, step by step.
What Are FOD and Swarf?
FOD is anything that shouldn't be inside an engine - from dropped spanners to microscopic metal chips.
Swarf refers to the sharp shavings produced when drilling or machining metal.
They can cause a range of problems, such as scratched platinum-coated internals, damaged paint, borescope inspections, engine teardowns and costly delays.
How FastEDR Eliminates FOD and Swarf
1. It's Fully Automated and Sealed
The process runs in a controlled sequence - the operator can't accidentally skip a step.
A rubber-sealed cup on the end of the tool presses against the work surface, fully enclosing the machining area.
The electrode passes through the cup as it works, while the seal stays intact throughout.
2. Vacuum First, Always
The vacuum activates before anything else happens. This creates negative pressure inside the sealed cup, so any particle produced is pulled inward, never outward.
Machining only begins once that negative pressure is established.
3. Deionised Water in a Closed Loop
Once the vacuum is on, deionised water flushes continuously through the tool.
We use deionised water because the electrical discharge machining process relies on electrical resistance between the electrode and the workpiece, so the spark can jump the gap. Tap water is too conductive and would kill the spark energy.
The water doesn't dissolve the eroded material - it picks it up and carries it away as a fine slurry.
4. Particles Are Immediately Captured in Fluid
FastEDR doesn't produce drill shavings – it erodes the fastener into an ultra-fine powder.
The particles are too small to see individually, but in the water, they look like a black sludge.
Because they're so fine and immediately captured in fluid, there's nothing for an operator to drop, inhale, or leave behind.
5. A Fine Particle Filter Catches Everything
The slurry is sucked back into the machine and passed through a filter cartridge - similar to the kind you'd fit under a kitchen sink for microplastics.
Clean water returns to the 13-litre tank and recirculates. The filter cartridge is the only thing that ever needs disposing of - and with it goes all the swarf.
6. Topping Up Is Easy
The tank loses a little water over time (a couple of droplets stay on each fastener, plus evaporation).
You can top up with tap water - a deionising resin in one of the filters will bring it back to spec.
Starting from scratch with tap water takes about 3 hours to fully deionise - buying ready-made deionised water (the same stuff used in irons and car radiators) skips the wait.
7. Replacing the Filter
The filter needs to be replaced roughly every 100 fasteners removed. To replace the filter, you unscrew the panel on the front of the machine, swap the cartridge, and dispose of the old one.
What This Means in Practice
- No borescope inspections after fastener removal - there's nothing to look for
- No teardown risk from a stray chip lodged in the engine
- No scratches on platinum-coated internals or painted skins
- No sharp shavings for operators to deal with
- Just the screw head and shank, removed cleanly, every time
The Bottom Line
FastEDR takes FOD and swarf out of the process entirely. Vacuum first, sealed cup, deionised water loop, fine filtration. The result is a fastener removal method built for the strictest FOD-Free Zones in aerospace MRO.