The Boeing Company

Christopher A Greer

Branko Lakic

Jerald A Hull

Craig Allen Charlton

Justin H Pratt

Constantin C Lazar

Jeffrey H Hunt

Santiago M Mejia

Nicholas A Norman

Joseph D Doyle

Patrick James Macko

Jyani S Vaddi

Brian D Smith

Monica Tatar

Nathan W Vance

Richard M Wcislak

Jonathan A Cox

Ben Rennison

A manufacturing system includes a holding structure and actuators that are coupled to the holding structure. The actuators support the component and apply displacements to select locations of the component to change a current shape of the component toward a target shape of the component. The system includes a metrology system that takes measurements of the current shape of the component. The system includes a controller that utilizes a closed feedback loop to determine a deviation between the current shape and the target shape based on the measurements and to provide commands that iteratively change the displacements in response to changes in the current shape until the current shape is within a tolerance of the target shape.

Manufacturing systems and methods for shaping and assembling flexible structures

A method for making a pressure bulkhead assembly of an aircraft includes determining first locations and first orientations of a plurality of first holes, pre-drilled in an aft pressure bulkhead. The method also includes determining a first surface profile of a first interface surface of the aft pressure bulkhead and determining a second surface profile of a second interface surface of each one of a plurality of splice angles. The method also includes determining second locations and second orientations of a plurality of second holes to be drilled in each one of the plurality of splice angles corresponding to the plurality of first holes in the aft pressure bulkhead and drilling the plurality of second holes in each one of the plurality of splice angles at the second locations and second orientations.

Pressure bulkhead assembly methods and systems

A method of making a pressure bulkhead assembly of an aircraft includes determining an optimized position of splice angles such that splice surfaces of the splice angles will form a circumferential splice surface of the pressure bulkhead assembly with an optimized shape. The method further includes performing a virtual fit between the plurality of splice angles, at the optimized position, and an aft pressure bulkhead. The method also includes determining splice-angle-hole positions of splice-angle holes to be drilled in each one of the splice angles such that the splice-angle holes will correspond to aft-pressure-bulkhead holes, pre-drilled in the aft pressure bulkhead. The method further includes drilling the splice-angle holes in each one of the splice angles at the splice-angle-hole positions. The method also includes joining each one of the splice angles with the aft pressure bulkhead such that the splice surfaces form the circumferential splice surface with the optimized shape.

Pressure bulkhead assembly and method and system for making the same

A method includes making a first structure with a first plurality of pre-drilled holes at pre-defined locations, making a second structure with a second plurality of pre-drilled holes at pre-defined locations, making a third structure without pre-drilled full-size holes, measuring the location and orientation of the first and second plurality of pre-drilled holes in the first and second structures, determining the location of a third plurality of holes to be drilled in the third structure that correspond to first and second plurality of pre-drilled holes measured in the first and second structures, creating a program to drill the third plurality of holes in the third structure that align with the measured location and orientation of the first and second plurality of pre-drilled holes in the first and second structures based on the measure location and orientation of the first and second plurality of pre-drilled holes in the first and second structure, drilling the third plurality of holes in the third structure based on the program, positioning the third structure on the first and second structures such that the third plurality of holes in the third structure are aligned with the first and second plurality of pre-drilled holes in the first and second structures, and inserting fasteners through the third plurality of holes and the first and second plurality of predrilled holes that are aligned with the third plurality of holes to secure the second structure to the first structure using the third structure.

Method and system for joining structures

A system for measuring a flushness of a fastener in a surface includes a plurality of lights configured to illuminate the fastener and the surface. The system also includes a camera configured to capture a plurality of images of the fastener and the surface while the lights sequentially illuminate the fastener and the surface. The system also includes a computing system configured to determine a normal map of the fastener and the surface based at least partially upon the images, determine a depth map of the fastener and the surface based at least partially upon the normal map, and determine the flushness of the fastener with respect to the surface based at least partially upon the depth map.

System and method for determining a flushness of a fastener

Methods for using predictive shimming to optimize part-to-part alignment. In accordance with one embodiment, the process uses measurement data acquired from mating surfaces and key features to virtually align two parts in a manner that optimizes the final orientation of the parts and determines the geometry of the shim needed to achieve this orientation during assembly.

Methods using predictive shimming to optimize part-to-part alignment

Systems and methods are provided for placing non-destructive marks onto a part via an end effector of a robot. One embodiment is a system comprising an end effector of a robot. The end effector includes an extendable punch that places targets onto a part, and supports that hold a strip of reflective adhesive tape between the punch and the part. Extending the punch cuts out a target from the strip and applies an adhesive side of the target to the part, and retracting the punch leaves a reflective side of the target visible on the part.

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Wadmalaw Island, SC, United States of America

Christopher A Greer