The Boeing Company

James Leonard Scherer

John P Scheibel

Roger W Engelbart

Christopher Mark Vaccaro

Jeffrey J Kilwin

George E Bible

Michael A Ward

Theodore Warner

Brian Stutzman

Tools and methods for creating a plurality of aligned holes from a plurality of near full-sized holes. The tool includes a cutting member having a first diameter and a pilot member connected to and coaxial with the cutting member. A first section of the pilot member includes a centering member and is positioned between the cutting member and the second section having a second diameter. The centering member may include a cutting surface. The second diameter corresponds to a positional tolerance of misalignment of a plurality of near full-sized holes of the same diameter and a full-size hole diameter. The centering member may have a third diameter between the first and second diameters. The centering member may be tapered. The pilot member may be inserted into a plurality of near-full sized holes and the cutting member may cut through the holes to form a plurality of aligned full sized holes.

Tools and methods for forming aligned holes from near full-sized holes

A masking plug assembly includes a lower anvil and an elongate member coupled to a central portion of the lower anvil, where the elongate member includes at least one coupling part. The assembly also includes an upper anvil having a central opening for receiving the elongate member therethrough, where the upper anvil includes at least one complementary coupling part configured to be releasably coupled with the at least one coupling part of the elongate member. The assembly also includes a deformable plug with a central opening for receiving the elongate member therethrough, where the deformable plug is configured to be positioned within the hole of the structure between the lower anvil and the upper anvil, and where the deformable plug is composed of a resilient material such that at least a portion of the deformable plug expands horizontally when compressed vertically between the lower anvil and the upper anvil.

Masking plug assembly

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

A method for enlarging each one of an initial pair of holes, which includes a first hole, extending through a first component, and a second hole, extending through a second component, includes inserting a pilot member, corresponding to a tolerance of misalignment of the first hole and the second hole of the initial pair of holes, such that pilot member passes through a clearance gap, defined by at least a portion of a boundary of first hole and at least a portion of a boundary of second hole with pilot member having a first central axis. The method also includes cutting a second pair of aligned holes through first and second components, respectively, with a cutter section, which has a second central axis.

Methods for cutting aligned full size holes

Masking plug assmebly

A method for forming a plurality of aligned holes includes aligning a first surface defining a first hole with a second surface defining a second hole, wherein the first hole at least partially aligns with the second hole to form a gap. A virtual hole diameter is measured, wherein the virtual hole diameter is a diameter of a virtual hole through the gap and the virtual hole diameter is a smallest bisector of the gap. Responsive to the virtual hole diameter having a first virtual hole diameter, a first cleanup hole having a first cleanup hole diameter is formed through the gap, wherein the first cleanup hole is concentrically aligned with the virtual hole. A first fastener having a first size is inserted into the first cleanup hole, and the first surface is attached to the second surface using the first fastener. Additional implementations are described.

Methods and systems for forming aligned holes

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

In one embodiment, a method for forming a pair of aligned holes is provided. The method comprises determining a diameter of a cleanup hole associated with a plurality of misaligned holes, in which the cleanup hole diameter may also correspond to a fastener diameter. Additionally, a tapered reamer is at least partially inserted into a gap defined by the plurality of misaligned holes. The tapered reamer has a longitudinal axis and may be configured such that the longitudinal axis aligns with a center of the cleanup hole when the tapered reamer is inserted into the gap defined by the plurality of misaligned holes. The plurality of misaligned holes may then be reamed with the tapered reamer to form the cleanup hole defined by the plurality of aligned holes having a same center and a same diameter.

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St. Peters, MO, United States of America

James Leonard Scherer