The Boeing Company

Lyle M Wallace

Darrell Darwin Jones

Theodore Martin Boyl-Davis

Ronald W Outous

James N Buttrick, Jr

Roger A Gage

Paul Reuben Arntson

James M Buttrick

James Niemann Buttrick

Daniel Martin Sherick

Dave G Ellsworth

Paul R Arnston

Blaine F Roberts

Adam C Clark

Paul N Stavig

James M Buttrick Jr

Roger M Gage

An apparatus for removing a lock bolt collar from an installed lock bolt extending from a joint surface. The apparatus has an outer sleeve with a tubular conduit, and a joint engagement surface for contacting a surface of said joint. The apparatus also has an inner sleeve disposed within the tubular conduit of the outer sleeve. The inner sleeve has teeth for gripping and pulling the lock bolt collar. When the inner sleeve is pulled into the outer sleeve, a ridge disposed on an exterior surface of the inner sleeve pushes the teeth in a radially inward direction to grip and pull the lock bolt collar off the lock bolt.

Lock bolt collar removal tool

Methods and apparatus for counterbalanced manufacturing operations are disclosed. In one embodiment, an assembly includes a base, a tool support assembly, and a biasing device. The tool support assembly includes a first component coupled to the base and a second component moveable along a translation axis relative to the first component. The second component is configured to be coupled to a tool operable to perform the manufacturing operation on a workpiece. The biasing device includes a first portion coupled to the first component, a second portion coupled to the second component, and a control component. The first and second portions are moveably coupled and configured to apply a biasing force to the second component to at least partially counterbalance a force exerted on the second component along the translation axis by a weight of the tool support assembly and the tool during performance of the manufacturing operation.

Methods and apparatus for counterbalance-assisted manufacturing operations

Methods and apparatus for counterbalanced manufacturing operations are disclosed. In one embodiment, an apparatus for supporting a tool relative to a surface of a workpiece includes a base adapted to be attached to the workpiece, a tool support coupled to the base, and a biasing device coupled to both the base and the tool support. The tool support is moveable relative to the base along a translation axis, and the biasing device is biasable along a biasing axis that is at least partially along the translation axis. The biasing device is adapted to at least partially counterbalance a force (e.g. a gravitational force) exerted on the tool support along the translation axis.

Growing community of inventors

Kent, WA, United States of America

Lyle M Wallace