The Boeing Company

John P Scheibel

James Leonard Scherer

Michael A Ward

Neel P Patel

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 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

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 of establishing a datum reference frame for a manufactured detail part used in an assembly comprises establishing a primary datum reference plane, identifying first and second mating surfaces of the part, identifying first and second functional features of size on the first and second mating surfaces, using a coordinate measuring machine (CMM) probe to identify a first point at an intersection of a centerline of the first feature and the first surface, using the CMM probe to identify a second point at an intersection of the centerline of the second feature and the second surface; and establishing a secondary compound datum reference plane through the intersection points and perpendicular to the primary datum reference plane.

Datum reference frame for mechanical parts

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.

Growing community of inventors

Florissant, MO, United States of America

John P Scheibel