Use of Manufacturing Compounds to Create Fiducial Marks
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsCraig F. Battles, Gregg W. Podnar, Kurt Webster
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A robotic tool is positioned relative to a feature of a component during a manufacturing process. The tool may be used to perform a manufacturing operation on the component. The tool is also be used to dispose a fiducial mark with a known registration to the feature, even if the feature is subsequently obscured. The position of tools for subsequent manufacturing operations are then set relative to the fiducial mark.
Claims20
A method of creating fiducial marks on a component, the method comprising:
- identifying a reference location on the component;
- moving a tool to a location having a predetermined spatial relationship to the reference location;
- and
- using the tool, disposing a compound to create a fiducial mark on the component at the location.
A system for performing manufacturing operations on a component, the system comprising:
- a tool adapted to dispose a compound on the component;
- a sensing tool that captures information about a feature on the component;
- and
- a controller configured to:
- determine a first location on the component using the information about the feature;
- and
- cause the tool to dispose a fiducial mark on the component at the first location.
A method of manufacturing a wing of an airplane, the method comprising:
- identifying a first location on the wing;
- performing a manufacturing operation using a tool spatially positioned relative to the first location;
- and
- creating a fiducial mark using the tool at a second location with a known spatial relationship to the first location.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.