The Boeing Company

Other

David A Yousko

Hinrich C Patjens

Paul Elfes Nelson

Gregory Louis Clark

Robert L Fuller, Jr

Hugh R Schlosstein

Paul E Faville

David M Kozy

Douglas M Thompson

Dennis M Cordy

James A Shofner

Zenna J Dunning

Edward F Neary

An assembly cell for accurate placement of stringer clips in a channel of a stringer for a compound contour section of an airplane fuselage, and for holding the clips at a predetermined orientation while drilling holes for fastening the clips in the stringers includes a fixture having locating surfaces for holding the stringer in a configuration that is the same as the configuration it will have when installed at its designated position in the airplane. The fixture has headers adjustable to conform to the shape of the airplane in which the stringers will be installed, The headers have clamps for securing the stringers against accurately machined reference surfaces on the headers. An end effector is held by a machine tool in the assembly cell for gripping a stringer clip and inserting it into the stringer channel. The end effector has spreader bars for insertion in the stringer channel operable to spread sidewalls of the stringer and widen the channel to facilitate insertion of the stringer clip, and has clamp bars positionable on opposide sides of the stringer and operable to close on the stringer to squeeze the stringer sidewalls on the stringer clip after insertion in the channel. Opposed drills on the end effector have right angle drives holding drill bits for simultaneously match drilling holes through the sidewalls and through the stringer clip. The end effector machine tool operates as a positioning mechanism for accurately for positioning the drills at each stringer clip location along the stringer clip to positions corresponding to the contour of the fuselage at each of the locations under control of a CNC machine controller.

Contoured stringer/clip drilling

An improved drilling device for drilling normal holes in a workpiece surface is carried and positioned by an automatic control arm. The improved drilling device includes a compliant drill head generally comprising a drill housing and a pressure foot. The pressure foot for contacting the workpiece surface is connected to the drill housing at a universally swiveling joint. The drill housing encloses a drill drive means that advances and rotates a drill tool about a drill axis. Both the pressure foot and the drill housing have axial chambers and holes for permitting the drill tool to advance to the workpiece surface. Linear gauges mounted to the drill housing probe the orientation of the pressure foot relative to the drill housing. The linear gauges provide data to the automatic control arm so that when the pressure foot contacts a portion of the workpiece surface that is not normal to the drill axis and the pressure foot swivels relative to the drill housing as the pressure foot orients normal to the workpiece surface, the control arm can realign the drill housing with the pressure foot so that the drill axis is normal to the work piece surface and so that the drill tool can be advanced and rotated toward and through the workpiece surface there by drilling a normal hole in the workpiece surface.

Self normalizing drill head

An end effector adapted for attachment to and accurate positioning by a robot is provided for positioning a right angle shaped workpiece at a desired position against a panel and drilling a pair of accurately located positioning holes through the workpiece and the panel. The end effector includes a rear plate having a conventional tool connector and adapter that can be grasped and manipulated by the robot. A frame is cantilevered on the rear plate and supports a shuttle mounted on horizontal linear bearings for lateral motion of the shuttle. A pair of vertical bearings on the shuttle supports two horizontal support plates for vertical motion on the shuttle. A drill and an inserter are mounted on the support plates for lateral motion with the shuttle, and for vertical motion on the shuttle. Two servomotors under control of a system controller control the lateral motion of the shuttle and the vertical motion of the support plates, and a linear motion encoder provides feedback to the controller to attain accurate positioning of the support plates and the drills mounted thereon.

Part positioning and drilling end effector

Inbound and outbound parallel conveyors carry parts supported on a screen tray engaged by the conveyors. The parts are conveyed to a station on the inbound conveyor line where a substance is applied to a first portion of the parts. The parts are then conveyed to an inverting apparatus which inverts the parts onto another tray screen so that the relative locations of the parts on the tray screen are maintained to prevent masking each other when the substance is applied to a second portion of the parts. The parts are then conveyed to another location where the upwardly disposed second portions of the parts receive a coating of the substance. The inverting operation is accomplished by the inverting apparatus, slideably engaged to a lateral mobile assembly, which engages the parts tray from the conveyor within a lower tray receptacle. The parts are clamped between the lower tray and an upper screen tray removably engaged in an upper tray receptacle. In order to fix the locations of differently sized parts on the tray during rotation and movement of the carrier frame, during the clamping operation, a compliant material such as vertical bristles, disposed above and below the tray screens, is displaced through the screen holes to engage the parts thereabout.

Apparatus and methods for engaging a workpiece

An apparatus and method for first drilling a hole in a workpiece by utilizing a locating jig, and then inspecting the hole to insure it is drilled to the proper diameter. There is an inspection device having an inspection probe that is pivotally mounted about a universal mounting device so that the lower inspection end of the probe is able to deflect laterally to fit in the drilled hole so as to be centered therein. This arrangement compensates for any misalignment in the positioning of the inspection apparatus relative to the earlier alignment of the drilling apparatus.

Apparatus and method for the drilling and inspecting of holes

An electro-mechanical gaging apparatus and method for measuring the diameter of gundrill bits that have been pointed and the cylindrical surface areas relieved to leave only the margin and the wear pad on the circumference. A V-block of about 100 degrees is used in combination with a dual segmented clamp and a gage probe for generating electrical signals which provide the necessary inputs for trigonometric calculation, e.g. by an electrical microprocessor, thereby providing the desired diameter measurement.

Growing community of inventors

Renton, WA, United States of America

David A Yousko