The Boeing Company

Ronald W Outous

Darrell Darwin Jones

David Paul Banks

Theodore Martin Boyl-Davis

Paul Elfes Nelson

James Niemann Buttrick

Charles H Glaisyer

Terrence J Rowe

Mark C Boberg

Laurance N Hazlehurst

Harry E Townsend

Bobby C Philpott, Jr

Kostadinos D Papanikolaou

John Richard Porter

James N Buttrick, Jr

Alan Ray Merkley

Paul Reuben Arntson

Lyle M Wallace

James M Buttrick

Roger A Gage

Christopher D Condliff

James C Murphy

Kostandinos D Papanikolaou

David P Himmel

David W Princehouse

Robert A Cullen

Eugene P McGuire

Paul R Arnston

Laurence N Hazelhurst

Darrel D Jones

Theodore M Boyl-David

Bobby C Philpott

Alan R Merkley

James M Buttrick Jr

Roger M Gage

A production system for manufacturing a workpiece comprises an index system including a plurality of index devices removably mounted on the workpiece at known longitudinally spaced locations therealong, and a longitudinally extending index member releasably engaged with at least two of the index devices such that a position and orientation of the index member are fixed relative to the workpiece by the index devices, the index member having position-indicating features distributed therealong. The production system further comprises a machine module mounted for longitudinal movement along the index member and operable to perform an operation, the machine module being operable to detect the position-indicating features on the index member and thereby determine a position of the machine module relative to the workpiece.

Production system and an associated index device for use as a reference feature

An apparatus for a drilling operation. In one advantageous embodiment, the drilling operation includes a motor, a rotary sensor, and a controller connected to the rotary sensor. The rotary sensor may be capable of generating a signal in response to rotary movement of the drill motor. The controller may be capable of monitoring a speed of the air motor from the signal generated by the rotary sensor and may be capable of identifying a change from a current layer in a stackup to a new layer in the stackup using the signal.

Adaptive positive feed drilling system

A motor assembly including a body that includes a plurality of cylinders and a plurality of air channels and a conical shaped piston slidably coupled within each of said plurality of cylinders. The motor assembly also includes a rotatable timing shaft positioned concentric to and at least partially housed within the body and in flow communication with an air source and the plurality of air channels and a cam plate coupled to the timing shaft and configured to engage the pistons and generate torque.

Axial cam air motor

An interlocking precision flexible rail system for carrying a positionable machine tool employs a first rail element having a first step on a lower surface extending from a first end to a termination at a predetermined length and a second rail element having a mating step on an upper surface extending from a second end to receive the first step. A pair of first clips is removably affixed to a top surface of the first rail element adjacent the first end with a first pin and to the second rail element with a second pin in each clip. A pair of second clips is removably affixed to a bottom surface of the second rail element adjacent the second end with a third pin and to the first rail element with a forth pin in each clip. Alignment holes to receive the pins have tolerances defined in conjunction with the predetermined length of the step, the length of the step allowing a reduced tolerance. The first and second pairs of clips and associated pins laterally secure the rail elements in mated engagement.

Interlocking precision flexible rail system

Indexing device for manufacturing system for aircraft structures and other large structures

A flexible rail machine tool couples temporarily to a structure by vacuum cups and positions a tool head at any desired point over an area. The toolhead can perform operations such as drilling, bolt insertion, and acquisition of dimension data. The flexible rail can conform to surface curvature in one or more axes. Tool head perpendicularity to the structure can be sensed and adjusted as needed. The as-attached position of the rail may be compensated for through coordinate transformation, allowing holes, for example, to be placed with substantial precision.

Flexible rail multiaxis machine tool and method

Apparatus and methods for manufacturing operations using non-contact position sensing are disclosed. In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a track assembly adapted to be attached to a workpiece, a carriage assembly moveably coupled to the track assembly and moveable relative to the workpiece, and a position sensor. The position sensor includes a sensor element adapted to detect at least one edge of an index feature on the workpiece from a distance away from the index feature. In an alternate embodiment, the position sensor may include a sensing circuit that receives an analog signal from the sensing element and provides both analog and digital output signals. In another embodiment, a controller that controls manufacturing operations may be mounted directly on the carriage assembly.

Methods for manufacturing operations using non-contact position sensing

The apparatus for normalization of a drilling tool to a work surface includes a light source, a beam splitter, and a screen. The beam splitter directs and the screen receives at least a portion of the light reflected off of the work surface. When the received light is located in a predetermined portion of the screen, then the drilling tool is normal to the work surface. The method for normalization of a drilling tool to a work surface includes positioning the drilling tool proximate the work surface, transmitting light toward the work surface, creating an image of the light that has reflected off of the work surface upon a screen, thereby permitting the orientation of the drilling tool to be adjusted until the image of the reflected light is located in a predetermined portion of the screen that is indicative of proper alignment.

Apparatus and method for normalization of a drilling tool to a work surface

An automatic position-locking tool carrier apparatus and method include a carriage that rides on a first rail and a second rail translatably connected to the carriage perpendicular to the first rail. Pinion gears that engage with the two rails are attached to the carriage and coupled to position encoders which transmit position signals to a controller. The controller produces control signals to control brake mechanisms coupled to the pinion gears. Translational motion of the carriage and the second rail are limited or prevented when the position of the carriage and the second rail are within predetermined limitations from a predetermined location, fixing the position of an end-effector head attached at one end of the second rail. The carriage and the second rail are propelled by forces external to the system.

Automatic position-locking tool carrier apparatus and method

Manufacturing system for aircraft structures and other large structures

Apparatus for manufacturing operations using non-contact position sensing

Apparatus and methods for retrieving bipolar, standardized, digital communication words for test purposes from a source transmitting over a system bus, and displaying these communication words in an understandable format. The apparatus incluldes signal receiving ports coupled to the desired bus, which monitor and retrieve preselected communication words that are transmitted to one or more line replaceable units connected to that bus. Each incoming communication word contains an encoded label which is repetitively compared to a preselected label so that only those communication words having matched labels are retrieved for display. The retrieved word is decoded in either engineering or binary form and then displayed at an LCD window, printed out as hard copy, or made available to an IEEE-488 interface. Since the same label may be used to identify different communication words depending upon the transmitting source and bus, the apparatus includes an internal data base which utilizes the label and a transmitter identification code to generate data defining the selected communication word in proper engineering units and units of measure regardless of the system bus accessed. The apparatus includes signal input conditioning circuitry including two parallel comparators to convert the incoming bipolar signals into unipolar, NRZ data, data clock sync and gap signals used in downstream digital circuitry.

Apparatus and method for retrieving data in the form of binary, multiple

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Seattle, WA, United States of America

Ronald W Outous