System and method for drilling holes and installing fasteners in vehicle structures

A rivet bucking tool for installing a plurality of rivets in a plurality of holes to secure together first and second overlapping components of an aircraft body, the rivet bucking tool comprising:

• a body comprising—
• a carbon fiber reinforced resin three-dimensionally printed plate comprising a shape which matches a concave contour of an interior surface of the aircraft body, and
• one or more vacuum channels and a gasket material positioned and configured to seal the one or more vacuum channels to the aircraft body;
• one or more handles attached to the body and configured to facilitate moving and positioning the rivet bucking tool on the aircraft body;
• one or more manual vacuum connections attached to the body and configured to connect to a vacuum source to create a pressure differential within the one or more vacuum channels between the body and the interior surface of the aircraft body to secure the body to the surface of the aircraft body;
• a backing plate associated with the body and positioned proximate to the plurality of holes in the aircraft body when the rivet bucking tool is in use, and configured to provide a mass against which the plurality of rivets are struck from an opposite side of the vehicle structure so as to deform and thereby secure the plurality of rivets in the plurality of holes;
• and
• a plurality of springs positioned behind the backing plate and configured to bias the backing plate toward the interior surface of the aircraft body proximate to the plurality of holes, and further configured to absorb at least a portion of an impact of striking the plurality of rivets and to maintain the backing plate seated against the plurality of rivets during repeated strikes by a tool located on the opposite side of the aircraft body.