The Boeing Company

Elizabeth Denise Blahut

Mark A Woods

Jeffry Glen Bickford

John E Inman

John A Davies, Jr

Edward E Feikert

John A Davies

John A Davies Jr

A fastener insertion system, for use with an assembly stack-up, includes a fastener and an end effector. The end effector includes a drill bit for drilling a hole through the stack-up, a probe for determining a stack-up parameter, and a fastener feed head for installing the fastener into the hole and applying rotational torque to complete fastener installation. The fastener insertion system also includes a processing device and an angle sensor communicatively coupled to the processing device and to the end effector. The processing device is programmed to measure, with the rotation angle sensor, the angular displacement required to complete fastener installation and to transmit a signal representative of the measured angular displacement from the angle sensor to the processing device. The processing device is also programmed to compare the measurement of angular displacement required to complete fastener installation to a range of angular displacement indicative of correct fastener installation.

Systems for in-process quality control during drill-fill assembly

A method for assembling a structure is described. The method includes locating a position in an assembly stack-up where a one-sided fastener is to be installed, drilling a hole through the assembly stack-up at the position, countersinking the hole to a specified depth, operating a calibrated probe to determine at least parameter associated with one or more of the hole and the stack-up proximate the hole, inserting the one-sided fastener into the hole, applying a rotational torque to the one-sided fastener to complete installation of the one-sided fastener, and comparing a measurement of angular displacement required to complete installation of the one-sided fastener to a range of angular displacement indicative of correct installation of the fastener.

Methods and systems for in-process quality control during drill-fill assembly

Growing community of inventors

Renton, WA, United States of America

Elizabeth Denise Blahut