The Boeing Company

Other

Baker Hughes Oilfield Operations LLC

The Boeing Corporation

Ths Boeing Company

Darrell Darwin Jones

Daniel R Smith

Kurtis Shuldberg Willden

James N Buttrick, Jr

David Paul Banks

Joseph Daniel Brennan

Raviendra Sidath Suriyaarachchi

Theodore Martin Boyl-Davis

Jeremy Evan Justice

Charles H Glaisyer

Brian Gregory Robins

James Niemann Buttrick

Michael A Lee

Paul Chace Wilcoxson

Terrence J Rowe

James R Kendall

Scott Edward Krajca

Ronald W Outous

Philip M Wright

Russell C McCrum

Long H Ly

Michael Robert Anderson

Roger A Gage

Paul D Shaw

Laurance N Hazlehurst

Chace Wilcoxson

Paul Elfes Nelson

Daniel M Rotter

Eric M Reid

Peter D McCowin

Mark C Boberg

Harry E Townsend

John Richard Porter

Clayton Lynn Munk

Matthew K Lum

James Albert DeLand

Travis James Sherwood

Paul Reed Stone

Kenneth Marvin Dull

Joseph Warren

Matthew Ray DesJardien

Dan Dresskell Day

Farahnaz Sisco

Jennifer Sue Noel

William Stahl Hollensteiner

Silas Lawton Studley

Dario I Valenzuela

Hugh R Schlosstein

Richard B Evans

Frederick Marvin Swanstrom

James C Kennedy

Andrew Elmer Modin

Brad Andrew Coxon

Edward John Batt

Byron James Autry

Lisa Christina Carlson

Antonio C Micale

Arvid J Berg

Grant C Zenkner

Kenneth Paul Zaballos

Stephen Keith Kirchmeier

Donald Chester Darrow

Mark S Bunker

Douglas Alan McCarville

Barry Allen Fetzer

Tanni Sisco

Allen James Halbritter

Shane Edward Arthur

Kwok Tung Chan

Jonathan A Santiago

Stephen Lee Metschan

Paul C Chang

Steven A Best

Patrick B Stone

Fei Cai

Michael K Louie

Adriana Willempje Blom

Khanh Mai Pham

David L Wagner

Garrett C Hanson

Jonathan Y Ahn

Jordan Seth Erickson

Alan Ray Merkley

Erik Lund

Monica Joy Brockway

Christie Dusty Lagally

Steven Best

Michael Kenneth-Que Louie

Matthew Benjamin Moore

Robert L Anderson

Hyukbong Kwon

Michael M Stepan

Mark E King

Noel A Spishak

Ronald Garr

Paul E Ffield

Richard Allen Miller, Ii

Gordon M Cox

Steven J Plummer

Davis Tran

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

There is provided a pick-and-place system for transferring and installing a contoured composite structure onto a mandrel, in a composite manufacturing system. The pick-and-place system includes a tray station having a tray assembly to hold the contoured composite structure, prior to transfer and installation onto the mandrel. The pick-and-place system further includes an installation station having the mandrel and a pick-and-place assembly. The mandrel is designed to receive the contoured composite structure, and designed to move along a moving manufacturing line, via a conveyor assembly. The pick-and-place assembly includes a gantry assembly, a main beam suspended from the gantry assembly, the main beam having a plurality of end effector assemblies and a plurality of indexing assemblies, a vacuum system coupled to the main beam, a load balancer assembly coupling the main beam to the gantry assembly, and a control system coupled to the pick-and-place assembly, to operably control the pick-and-place-assembly.

Pick-and-place system and method for transferring and installing a contoured composite structure

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

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

A forming apparatus comprises a frame. The frame defines a vertical axis, a horizontal axis, and a longitudinal axis. A carriage is movably connected to the frame. A first stomp foot is movably connected to the carriage such that it may move along the vertical axis. A second stomp foot is movably connected to the carriage such that it may move along the vertical axis. A first swing arm is movably connected to the carriage and a second swing arm, movably connected to the carriage, is laterally opposed from the first swing arm relative to the longitudinal axis. A method includes applying at least one ply of composite material over a forming surface of a forming tool and deforming the at least one ply of composite material over the forming surface of the forming tool with the forming apparatus.

Forming apparatus, method, and system

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.

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

Mill Creek, WA, United States of America

Darrell Darwin Jones