Orbital hole match drilling
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsDavid H. Amirehteshami, Eric Whinnem, Branko Sarh, Angelica Davancens
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Abstract
Methods are disclosed for producing a hole in a work-piece having first and second layers of material. The first layer of material contains a full-sized hole through the first layer of material. The first layer of material is positioned adjacent the second layer of material. An orbital drill is secured to the first layer of material to position a cutting tool of the drill within the through-hole. During operation, when the cutting tool is used to cut a hole in the second layer of material, the alignment keeps the orbital drill stationary.
Claims15
A method of drilling a hole in a multi-layer integrated workpiece using a pre-fabricated hole through one of the layers of the workpiece, the method comprising:
- providing a multi-layer integrated workpiece, wherein the multi-layer integrated workpiece includes a first layer of material with a pre-fabricated through-hole and a second layer of material positioned near the first layer of material;
- securing an orbital drill to the first layer of material of the multi-layer integrated workpiece by receiving a bushing within the pre-fabricated through-hole such that a cutting tool of the orbital drill is positioned within the pre-fabricated through-hole of the workpiece, and the orbital drill is stationary with respect to the multi-layer integrated workpiece;
- and
- drilling a hole in the second layer of material of the multi-layer integrated workpiece using the orbital drill.
A method of manufacturing an aircraft component, the method comprising:
- providing an aircraft component including a first aircraft element with a pre-fabricated through-hole and a second aircraft element positioned near the first aircraft element;
- providing an orbital drill with a principal axis and including a cutting tool with a tool axis, the cutting tool rotating about the tool axis and orbiting about the principal axis when in operation;
- securing the orbital drill to the first aircraft element by receiving a bushing within the pre-fabricated through-hole such that the cutting tool is positioned within the pre-fabricated through-hole of the first aircraft element and the principal axis of the orbital drill is substantially fixed with respect to the aircraft component when the cutting tool is in operation;
- and
- cutting a hole in the second aircraft element using the cutting tool.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.