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AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsJohn Garcia, Matthew Roy Colver, Richard M. Braeutigam JR., Robert D. Alfeld JR.
Estimating the term…
A drill plate of the present invention includes a concave body and a vacuum manifold. The concave body defines a plurality of drill ports which act as a drill guides to ensure accurate drill hole placement. The concave body collects, and the vacuum manifold removes, debris from the drilling process. Individual magnetic seals cover each of the drill ports to prevent the escape of debris from the concavity. The drill plate further includes a plurality of tooling pins that allow the drill plate to be affixed to the structure being drilled to improve the accuracy of hole placement and for “hands free” operation. The tooling pins allow the drill plate to be used with composite structures that are held together by hard tooling, such as aluminum parts.
A drill plate connected to a vacuum pressure supply for collecting and removing debris resulting from use of a drill and drill bit to drill holes into a structure having a surface, said drill plate comprising:
A method of collecting debris resulting from operation of a drill and drill bit while drilling holes into a structure having a surface, said method comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.