Method of restoring a composite airframe
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsLawrence S. Lindgren, Scott W. Lea, Gary E. Georgeson
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of removing an out-of-tolerance area in a composite structure comprises determining the location of the out-of-tolerance area and selecting a volume of the composite structure to be removed based on the location of the out-of-tolerance area. The method may further include programming a machine tool to remove the volume and to pause after removal of each one of a quantity of layers of the volume. The method may additionally include removing one of the layers using the programmed machine tool. The method may further include restoring the volume removed using the programmed area removal digital definition.
Claims8
A method of restoring a composite airframe containing at least one out-of-tolerance area, comprising:
- mounting a machine tool on the airframe;
- locating the boundaries of the out-of-tolerance area;
- retrieving a set of data defining the airframe geometry;
- calculating a volume of the airframe to be removed based on the boundaries of the out-of-tolerance area and the airframe geometry;
- selecting a quantity of layers of the volume for which the machine tool is paused following removal of each one of the layers;
- programming a controller with a tool path and the quantity of layers;
- removing one of the layers using the machine tool;
- and
- scanning, using a video camera and a non-destructive inspection (NDI) scanner, an area of the airframe uncovered by the removal of the layer to detect an additional out-of-tolerance area for removal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.