Flexible track drilling machine

An apparatus for drilling holes in a workpiece, comprising:

• a pair of rails each of which is relatively flexible in bending about an axis extending in a direction across a width of each rail, and relatively stiff in bending about an axis extending in a thickness direction of each rail;
• a plurality of attachment devices attached to each rail at spaced locations therealong for attaching the rails to a surface of the workpiece such that the thickness direction of each rail is substantially normal to the surface of the workpiece;
• a carriage slidably mounted on the rails via a plurality of rail-engaging members connected to the carriage, the rail-engaging members being mounted on supports that are attached to the carriage, the supports and rail-engaging members being structured and arranged such that relative movement is permitted between the carriage and rails to accommodate varying bending and twisting of the rails;
• and
• a drill supported on the carriage.

A method of positioning a machine component relative to a compound-contoured surface of a workpiece such that a machine axis of the machine component is substantially normal to the surface of the workpiece, comprising:

• slidably mounting a first carriage on a pair of spaced-apart flexible rails that are relatively flexible in bending about first bending axes and relatively inflexible in bending about second bending axes;
• id affixing the rails to the surface of the workpiece such that first bending axes are substantially parallel to the workpiece surface and the second bending axes are substantially normal to the workpiece surface, whereby the rails bend and twist as needed to substantially conform to the surface of the workpiece such that a reference axis of the first carriage at any position along the rails is substantially normal to the workpiece surface;
• and
• fixing the machine component on the first carriage such that the machine axis of the machine component is aligned along the reference axis of the first carriage, whereby the machine axis is positioned substantially normal to the workpiece surface.

A method of positioning a drill for drilling a workpiece having a contoured surface such that drilling occurs along an axis that is substantially normal to the workpiece surface at any point thereon, the method comprising:

• transforming a mathematical three-dimensional representation of the workpiece surface into a two-dimensional flat pattern such that each point (x, y, z) on the workpiece surface is transformed into a corresponding point (X, Y) on the flat pattern;
• positioning the drill along the workpiece surface so that drilling will occur at a desired point (x1, y1, z1) by positioning the drill to intersect a point (X1, Y1) on the flat pattern corresponding to the point (x1, y1, z1);
• and
• orienting the drill with a drilling axis thereof substantially normal to the workpiece surface at the point (x1, y1, z1) by mounting the drill on a support system that is attached to the workpiece surface and automatically orients the drilling axis substantially normal to the workpiece surface.