Digitally designed shims for joining parts of an assembly
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsTheodore M. Boyl-Davis, Darrell D. Jones, Tracy E. Zimmerman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method assembling parts uses a shim for filling a void between interfacing part surfaces. The surface profile of each of the part surfaces is determined and a digital volume is generated that substantially matches the void. A three dimensional digital representation of the shim is generated by mapping the part surface profiles onto the digital volume. The shim is fabricated using the three dimensional representation of the shim.
Claims23
A method of producing a shim for filling a void between two parts of an assembly, comprising:
- acquiring a set of digital data representing a surface of each of the parts;
- assembling the parts;
- determining the spatial relationship between the assembled parts;
- and
- fabricating a shim using the digital dataset and the determined spatial relationship between the parts.
A method of fitting together parts of an assembly, comprising:
- assembling at least two parts having mating surfaces with at least one gap therebetween;
- acquiring a set of digital data representing each of the mating surfaces;
- determining the relationship between the mating surfaces of the parts as assembled;
- and
- producing a shim substantially matching the shape of the gap using the acquired digital dataset and the determined relationship between the mating surfaces.
A method of assembling parts using a shim to fill a gap between mating part surfaces, comprising:
- determining the surface profile of each of the part surfaces;
- generating a digital volume that substantially matches the gap;
- generating a three dimensional digital representation of a shim by mapping the part surface profiles onto the digital volume;
- and
- fabricating a shim using the three dimensional representation of the shim.
A method of assembling parts of an aircraft, wherein the parts having mating surfaces separated by a gap, comprising:
- acquiring the surface profile of each of at least first and second mating parts, including generating a first set of digital data representing the surface profile of the first part and generating a second set of digital data representing the surface profile of the second part;
- assembling the first and second parts together in a best fit relationship;
- generating a digital volume that substantially matches a gap between the parts, including placing a non-contact distance measurement device between the assembled parts an measuring the distance between the parts at multiple locations;
- disassembling the parts;
- generating a three dimensional digital representation of a shim to fill the gap by using the first and second datasets to map the part surface profiles onto the digital volume;
- using an automatically controlled machine to fabricate a shim matching the gap, including using the three dimensional digital representation of the shim to control the machine;
- reassembling the parts;
- and
- placing the fabricated shim between the parts to fill the gap.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.