The Boeing Company

George E Bible

Roger W Engelbart

Christopher Mark Vaccaro

Steven Michael Shewchuk

James Leonard Scherer

Jeffrey J Kilwin

Steven J Plummer

Ronald J Byington

John M Griffith

Ryan M Trella

Brian Stutzman

Shawn Frehner Brown

Peter M Winzek

A method for preparing a bond assembly jig (BAJ) includes forming a cutter relief groove in the BAJ, filling the cutter relief groove of the BAJ with a material, and curing the material after said filling.

Bond assembly jig preparation methods using thermosetting bismaleimide resins

A method including steps of (1) heating, with a heating system, an apparatus comprising an enclosure assembly and a temperature emulation assembly positioned within said enclosure assembly; (2) thermally isolating said temperature emulation assembly from said heating system with said enclosure assembly; (3) permitting conductive heat transfer to said temperature emulation assembly only through an enclosure assembly-leading end of said enclosure assembly; and (4) representing a hottest temperature and a coldest temperature of an article being emulated by said apparatus with said temperature emulation assembly.

Apparatus and method for emulating temperature during a thermal cure cycle

A method and system provide for reducing gaps between two mating parts. Either or both parts may be nondestructively inspected at a plurality of locations on a surface to gather a data set relating to the part thickness. The data set may be used to calculate a set of as-built thickness values for the part and a set of deviations from a design model. A mating area may be determined for mating surfaces of the parts. One or more layers of sacrificial material in the mating area may be prepared for any deviations greater than a design allowance. The system may include a ply cutting device and an additive manufacturing device coupled to a computer to receive the sacrificial material layer data and shim data and to cut the one or more layers of sacrificial material and to construct the shim. A shim may be constructed for any deviations equal to or greater than a minimum shim thickness. The one or more layers of sacrificial material may be applied to the part, cured, and machined to a desired thickness. The shim may be applied between the part surfaces. The parts may be fitted and assembled together.

Predictive surface adjustment for joint assembly

An apparatus includes a enclosure assembly including an enclosure assembly-leading end and an opposed enclosure assembly-lagging end, and a temperature emulation assembly mounted within the enclosure assembly and including a temperature emulation assembly-leading end located proximate to the enclosure assembly-leading end and a temperature emulation assembly-lagging end spaced away from the enclosure assembly-lagging end. The enclosure assembly thermally isolates the temperature emulation assembly. The enclosure assembly permits conductive heat transfer to the temperature emulation assembly only through the enclosure assembly-leading end.

A method and a system are provided for predicting and creating a shim for use in a joint where two parts, such as a skin and a substructure, are assembled together. Digital models for the skin and the substructure may be used as nominal maps of the outlines and profiles of the parts. The skin may be inspected, e.g., by nondestructive means, such as ultrasound, to determine as-built thickness profile for comparison to the skin's digital model of the thickness profile. Mating areas of the skin and substructure may be determined from their digital models of their outlines. Deviations in the mating areas of the as-built thickness of the skin from the digital model of the skin may be used to generate a digital model of a shim. The shim may be constructed from its digital model by additive manufacturing techniques that may involving machining or 3D printing.

Predictive shimming of joints

A portable multi-axis drilling machine includes a drill mounted between a pair of 2-axis positioning devices each of which translates along X and Y axes. The positioning devices are spaced apart along a Z axis of the machine and are mounted in a frame that has a workpiece-engaging side provided with a pair of index cylinders that receive spherical tool balls mounted on the workpiece surface so as to fix the position and orientation of the machine relative to the workpiece. The frame also has swiveling feet on the workpiece-engaging side that pivot as needed to accommodate complex contoured workpiece surfaces. Rotational movement of the drill is effected by differentially translating the two positioners, and translational X and Y movements are effected by synchronously translating the positioners.

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Chesterfield, MO, United States of America

George E Bible