The Boeing Company

Other

E3 Water, LLC

Daniel R Smith

Darrell Darwin Jones

Jeremy Evan Justice

Raviendra Sidath Suriyaarachchi

Paul Chace Wilcoxson

Kurtis Shuldberg Willden

Frederick Marvin Swanstrom

Robert William Whiting

Farahnaz Sisco

Edward John Batt

Scott Edward Krajca

Monte D Wright

James C Kennedy

John Richard Porter

Clayton Lynn Munk

James Niemann Buttrick

Darrin Michael Hansen

Byron James Autry

Jordan Seth Erickson

Russell Joe Heeter

Antonio C Micale

Harry E Townsend

Kevin Darrell Pate

Thu A Nguyen

Stephen Keith Kirchmeier

Jeffrey Denys Morgan

Dale Winter

Riley Harrison HansonSmith

Jason A Medenciy

Steven C Steckmyer

Donald A Mottaz

Jayson J Aquino

Chris G Couevas

Azita N Namdaran

Kenneth A Roberson, Jr

Noman S Noor

Michael Beerman

Paul T Pritchard

Barry Allen Fetzer

Tanni Sisco

Eric M Reid

Allen James Halbritter

James R Kendall

Kwok Tung Chan

Patrick B Stone

Michael K Louie

Lisa Christina Carlson

Garrett C Hanson

Silas Lawton Studley

Michael Kenneth-Que Louie

Matthew Benjamin Moore

Long H Ly

Richard Allen Miller, Ii

David Raines

James P Dobberfuhl

Steven Kuan-chi Wu

Gregory R Klempel

Marcus C Hart

Jacob E Koopmans

Justin K Alfred

Samuel Edward Antonucci

Hiteshkumar M Patel

Carlos Walker

Parisa Nazaran

Randy Woolridge

Craig Roedel

Garrett Charles Hanson

Kenneth A Roberson

Farahnaz Tanni Sisco

James N Buttrick

Clayton L Munk

Riley Hansonsmith

Richard Allen Miller Ii

Steven Kuan-Chi Wu

Mario Ramos

Systems and methods are provided for assembling a structure. The systems and method including micro pulsing a structure along a track in a process direction by less than a length of the structure. The structure is indexed to one or more work stations by mating indexing features in a manufacturing excess of the structure to complementary features at the work stations. The work stations would the perform work on the structure at the work stations while the structure is indexed to the work stations. Iteratively repeating the micro pulsing and indexing and working upon the structure until it is ready to advance to the next assembly process.

Indexing for airframes undergoing pulsed-line assembly

Systems are provided for fabricating a preform for a fuselage section of an aircraft. The system includes advancing a series of arcuate mandrel sections in a process direction through an assembly line, laying up fiber reinforced material onto the arcuate mandrel sections via layup stations, uniting the series of arcuate mandrel sections into a combined mandrel; and splicing the fiber reinforced material laid-up onto the arcuate mandrel sections.

Composite assembly for unhardened fuselage components

Systems and methods are provided for fabricating multiple segment spars for an aircraft. In one example the method includes fabricating preforms of fiber reinforced material for spar segments, hardening the preforms to form the spar segments, and bonding the spar segments together to form a completed spar detail. In addition to bonding, other examples include co-curing and fastening the spar segments. In additional examples, the spar segments include kinks or sub-kinks as described.

Fabrication of multi-segment spars

Systems and methods are provided for fabricating composite parts. The method includes subdividing a laminate into zones, laying up tows of fiber reinforced material for the laminate over a layup mandrel via multiple laminations such that each lamination head applies tows in a different zone, and splicing the zones together to form the laminate during the laying up of the tows while moving the layup mandrel in a process direction during fabrication of the composite parts.

Zonal lamination for composite parts in a moving line

Systems and methods are provided for assembling a section of a fuselage of an aircraft. The method includes pulsing a half barrel section of the fuselage along a track in a process direction, utilizing an indexing feature associated with the half barrel section to determine a desired contour for a portion of the half barrel section, and enforcing the desired contour onto the half barrel section using components that enforce an inner mold line and components that enforce an outer mold line when the half barrel section is out of tolerance from the desired contour.

Contour enforcement for line assembled fuselage segments

Systems and methods are provided for assembling a wing. Methods include suspending an upper wing panel of an aircraft beneath a shuttle, translating a rib to a position it, and placing the rib into contact with, then affixing the rib to, the upper wing panel, while suspended. Some methods include installing ribs and spars to the upper wing panel, and joining a lower wing panel to the ribs and spars, while the upper wing panel is suspended. Some methods involve joining ribs to spars (e.g., all, or some) to produce a support structure that is then affixed to the upper wing panel. Systems include a shuttle that suspends an upper wing panel, and a cart that includes supports to hold a rib, a chassis to translate the rib to a position beneath the upper wing panel, and a lifting apparatus to lift the rib into contact with the upper wing panel.

Assembly line fabrication and assembly of aircraft wings

Systems and methods are provided for inspecting aircraft fuselages. Non-Destructive Inspection (NDI) stations inspect sections of a fuselage via pulsed-line assembly techniques. After each pulse, a section of fuselage is moved by less than its length, and one or more NDI stations disposed at different portions of the section to inspect the section of fuselage for out-of-tolerance conditions. A method for inspecting a structure for inconsistencies which includes advancing a structure along a track in a process direction through a Non-Destructive Inspection (NDI) station, indexing the structure to the NDI station and inspecting the structure with the NDI station.

Non-destructive inspection station for aircraft fuselage sections fabricated in an assembly line

Systems and methods are provided for assembling an aircraft. The method includes receiving an upper half barrel section of fuselage that is in a crown up orientation and installing a crown module into the upper half barrel section.

Methods and systems for assembly and installation of airframe crown modules

Systems and methods are provided for assembling aircraft fuselages. One embodiment is a method for assembling a fuselage of an aircraft. The method includes indexing an arcuate section of a fuselage to a frame installation station, feeding a frame at the frame installation station into a concavity defined by the arcuate section, placing the frame against an Inner Mold Line (IML) of the arcuate section while the frame is within the concavity, and affixing the frame to the arcuate section.

Frame installation station for aircraft fuselage segments

Systems and methods are provided for inspecting a structure. One embodiment is a method for inspecting a structure. The method includes advancing a structure along a track in a process direction, aligning a Non-Destructive Inspection (NDI) station at the track with an edge of the structure that was trimmed upstream of the cleaning station, imaging the edge via the Non-Destructive Inspection (NDI) station, characterizing the edge based on the imaging, and advancing the structure further in the process direction via the track.

Edge trimming for moving-line fabrication of aircraft

A method for fabricating a preform for a portion of an aircraft includes acquiring a sheet of broad good fiber reinforced material, trimming the sheet to form layup pieces having boundaries, placing the boundaries into alignment, arranging the layup pieces in a layup pattern to form a ply, performing a placement operation that transports the layup pattern onto a layup mandrel, and shaping the layup pattern into conformance with a contour of the layup mandrel.

Composite preform assembly method and apparatus

Apparatus and methods are provided for fabrication of a structure, for example, a half barrel section of a fuselage. The apparatus includes an indexing unit dimensioned for coupling to an indexing feature disposed on the structure. The structure proceeds along a process direction during fabrication. A cutting station cuts out manufacturing excess from the structure to form, for example, openings for windows and doors. A method for fabrication of a structure includes indexing a structure to a cutting station based on an indexing feature associated or located on the structure. The method includes operating the cutting station to cut manufacturing excess from the structure. A method includes removing cut sections of the manufacturing excess and routing these sections away from the cutting station.

Cut-out processes for moving-line structure assembly

Systems and methods are provided for installing ribs and/or spars to a wing panel while a contour is enforced. Methods include suspending a wing panel beneath a shuttle that enforces the contour, advancing the wing panel through work stations via the shuttle, and installing a rib or a spar (or another wing panel) at a work station, while the contour is enforced. Other methods include locating a wing panel beneath a shuttle, coupling adjustable-length pogos to the wing panel at locations distinct from those corresponding with an installation location, e.g. for a rib or a spar, and controlling the length of the pogos to enforce a contour to the wing panel. Some systems include a track, work stations disposed along the track, and a shuttle to advance along the track and convey a wing panel to each of the work stations while enforcing a contour onto the wing panel.

Systems and methods are provided for fabricating curved preforms of fiber reinforced material. Methods include laying up at least one ply onto a carrier of flexible material at a lamination station, loading the carrier onto a rail system, routing the carrier to a particular Ply-By-Ply (PBP) forming station at the rail system, separating the at least one ply from the carrier, and making the at least one ply into the preform via the particular PBP forming station.

Fabrication of curved composite preforms for aircraft via assembly lines

Wing panels having composite wing skins and stringers are produced on a moving production line. The wing panels are formed on mandrels that move through workstations along the production line where laminators layup the wing skins and pick-and-place machines place stringers on the wing skins that are supplied by stringer feeder lines.

Composite wing panels and fabrication method

Growing community of inventors

Woodinville, WA, United States of America

Daniel R Smith