The Boeing Company

Theboeing Company

Martin Alexander Szarski

David Michael Bain

Phillip John Crothers

Andrew Klimovski

Andrew K Glynn

Peter N Steele

Phillip Haeusler

Luke Fletcher

Dominic Wierzbicki

Richard James Bain

Philip Lawrence Freeman

Peter J Lockett

Max Marley Osborne

David A Pook

Ashleigh Raoul Nesbit

Manning James Scarfe

Sam Meure

Ashkan Amirsadri

Leng Benjamin Vongchanh

Justin G Young

Lauren A Burns

Ronnie K Ligeti

A method, apparatus, system, and computer program product for processing a composite ply. An image of the composite ply is received. Natural features in the image of the composite ply are detected. Feature data for the natural features detected in association is saved with a ply identifier for the composite ply in a repository. The feature data is used to position the composite ply during manufacturing of a composite part using the composite ply.

Natural feature pick and place system for composite materials

A manufacturing system includes a stator base, a plurality of movers, one or more end effectors, and a controller. The stator base has a planar stator surface covering an array of electrical coils configured to generate an electromagnetic field. The movers each contain multiple permanent magnets configured to cause the movers to levitate and move relative to the stator surface in response to the electromagnetic field. The end effectors are coupled to the movers, and each end effector perform one or more functions in relation to a material sheet. The controller activates the electrical coils in a manner causing independent, coordinated movement of the movers over the stator surface, and causing the end effectors to engage with and operate on the material sheet.

Pick-and-place manufacturing system and method

A robotic manufacturing system and method include a robot including a control unit in communication with an operative member. The control unit is configured to operate the operative member in relation to a workpiece within a working area according to a control plan. A presence sensor is configured to detect presence of a human within the working area. An imaging device is configured to acquire an image of at least a portion of the workpiece in response to the presence sensor detecting the presence of the human within the working area.

Robotic manufacturing systems and methods

A method, apparatus, and system for manufacturing a composite part. A set of reference locations is identified for a set of fiducial markers on a composite ply from a ply shape model for the composite part. The set of fiducial markers is created at the set of reference locations on the composite ply. The composite ply is cut to have a shape defined by the ply shape model.

Printed fiducial system for accurate pick and place

Robots for moving relative to a surface, robotic systems including the same, and associated methods are disclosed. A robot includes a body, at least two legs, and at least two feet. Each leg has a proximal end region operatively coupled to the body at a respective body joint with one rotational degree of freedom and a distal end region operatively coupled to a respective foot at a respective foot joint comprising two rotational degrees of freedom. Each foot is configured to be translated relative to the surface with two degrees of translational freedom. Robotic systems include one or more robots and a surface along which the one or more robots are positioned to move. Methods of operating robots and of operating robotic systems include translating at least one foot of a robot to operatively move the body of the robot with six degrees of freedom.

Robots, robotic systems, and related methods

Systems and methods are provided for characterizing a ply of fiber having a thermoplastic veil. One method includes acquiring an image of a fiber material comprising strands of fiber and further comprising a veil of filaments of thermoplastic, subdividing the image into slices, determining an amount of melted filaments depicted within each of the slices, and determining an amount of unmelted filaments depicted within each of the slices.

Characterization of melted veil strand ratios in plies of fiber material

Resin permeation of a dry preform having one or more reinforcement plies is locally influenced during resin infusion using a selectively permeable veil applied to at least one of the reinforcement plies.

Method of locally influencing resin permeability of a dry preform

Systems and methods for retuning a surface to a nominal geometry using local reference points are disclosed. The system can include an imaging device for detecting the location of local features on an object. The system can use the location of local features, as opposed to an absolute reference frame, to determine one or more reference areas and one or more surface defects on an object. The system can then determine a nominal geometry for the surface (i.e., a surface that is substantially free of surface defects) and calculate the tool path necessary to create a nominal geometry. The system can machine the surface and, in some cases, rescan the surface to ensure the operation has machined the part to the nominal geometry.

Systems and methods for machining to nominal geometry using local features

A system and method is disclosed for performing matched drilling operations on mating first and second workpieces. A microscopic camera is mounted on a movable spindle holding a tool. A micro-adjustment mechanism on the spindle controllable moves the tool. A template is provided that is mounted to the first workpiece and to the second workpiece. A controller receives images of the template from the microscopic camera at each of the predetermined positions on the first workpiece and identifies microscopic features on the template associated with each of the predetermined positions on the first workpiece. The controller compares microscopic features within received images of the template at each of the predetermined positions on the second workpiece associated with microscopic features of a corresponding image of the first workpiece to calculate a necessary offset adjustment that is applied to the micro-adjustment mechanism before each operation on the second workpiece.

System and method for precisely drilling matched hole patterns using surface mapped features

A robotic system includes a robot and a processor configured to autonomously generate a master plan for movement of an end effector of the robot for operating on an operating surface of a workpiece in a physical environment. The master plan is based on a computer aided design (CAD) model of the workpiece and defines movement paths of the end effector based on a reach distance of a robotic arm of the robot at each of a plurality of working waypoints defined in the master plan and corresponding to fiducial markers on the workpiece. The processor registers the robot to the workpiece, iteratively adjusts an approximate workpiece position in a world map until matching an actual workpiece position in the physical environment, and constructs and executes a robotic arm trajectory causing the end effector to operate on the operating surface along the movement paths defined in the master plan.

Robotic system and method for operating on a workpiece

A method and apparatus for establishing a pathway for performing an automated validation of a condition of assembly. A sensor system coupled to an automated guided vehicle is moved into test positions relative to the structure. Image data is generated at each test position, using the sensor system, to build test images. Each test image is registered to a computer model of the structure to form registered images that are added to a collection of registered images. An optimal set of positions that will allow an entirety of an area of interest to be captured using a fewest number of registered images from the collection of registered images is determined. A pathway is generated for moving the automated guided vehicle to each optimal position in a least amount of time. A computer file identifying the pathway is generated for use in performing the automated validation of the condition of assembly.

Identifying a pathway for condition of assembly validation

A method and apparatus for performing an automated validation of a condition of assembly for a structure. A plurality of images of the structure are registered to a computer model of the structure in which an image in the plurality of images captures a portion of the structure. Each image in the plurality of images is segmented based on registration of the plurality of images to the computer model to form a plurality of image sections. A final score is generated for the condition of assembly of the structure based on whether each image section in the plurality of image sections meets a corresponding condition in which the final score indicates whether the condition of assembly is valid.

Automated validation of condition of assembly

A system includes a robotic device for moving an inspection tool, a scanner coupleable to the robotic device such that the robotic device is configured to automatically move the scanner to collect data associated with a surface of the object, and a computer system configured to determine a surface profile associated with the surface of the object based on the data, and generate a tool path for inspecting the object using the inspection tool based on the surface profile.

Methods and systems for automatically inspecting an object

Disclosed herein are methods and systems for generating a fingerprint for verification of a reference object, such as a layer or ply during a composite laminate layup procedure. An exemplary method includes generating a plurality of images of the reference object from a plurality of angles, removing at least one lighting effect from at least one reference image to generate at least one processed image, generating a reference fingerprint for the reference object based on the at least one processed image, generating at least one candidate image of a candidate object, generating a candidate fingerprint for the candidate object based on the at least one candidate image, comparing the candidate fingerprint and the reference fingerprint to determine whether a correlation exists between the candidate fingerprint and the reference fingerprint, and generating an alert based on the comparison of the candidate fingerprint and the reference fingerprint.

Growing community of inventors

Canterbury, Australia

Martin Alexander Szarski