Determinant passively-located pogo machine
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsPaul R. Stone, David E. Strand, Paul E. Nelson
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for manufacturing large, semi-flexible metal components includes a fixture that holds the component blank in a desired position for manufacturing operations by accurate numerically controlled machine tools using original numerical part definition records, utilizing spatial relationships between key features of detail parts or subassemblies as represented by coordination features machined into the parts and subassemblies, thereby making the parts and subassemblies intrinsically determinant of the dimensions and contour of the part.
Claims3
A method of accurately fixturing one or more elements for manufacturing a part, comprising:
- holding said elements rigidly on a fixture in a predetermined spatial orientation accessible by a CNC machine tool;
- probing coordination features on said web with a probe with reference to a fixed known location to determine the actual position of said web on said fixture with relation to said fixed known location;
- normalizing a machine tool program having locations of said coordination features with said actual locations in space of said coordination features as determined by said probe;
- and
- machining coordination features with said machine tool using said normalized machine tool program to direct a tool held by said machine tool to locations on said web.
A determinantly manufactured part, comprising:
- an elongated upright blank of semi-flexible metal plate having a certain predetermined contour;
- fastener holes in said blank coinciding in position with coordination holes drilled by a precision machine tool operating under the control of a machine controller programmed with a part program incorporating digital product definition data from an ultimate engineering authority that specifies locations of said coordination holes for positioning elements relative to said blank at positions specified in said digital product definition when said coordination holes are aligned with corresponding coordination holes in said blank.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.