Aircraft skin surface planing
AssigneeLockheed Martin Corporation
InventorsSean Benjamin Warner, Michael L. Hestness, Richard A. Luepke
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A contoured surface planing apparatus for removing proud-standing material from a contoured surface without damaging the surface. The apparatus may include a tool comprising a motor-driven rotary cutter supported by a main body for rotation about a cutter axis, and orientation contact points spaced around the cutter and defining an orientation contact plane disposed parallel to the cutter axis.
Claims16
A contoured surface planing apparatus comprising a tool including:
- a main body;
- a rotary cutter supported by the main body for rotation about a cutter axis and comprising an abrasive outer circumferential cutter surface;
- a motor operatively engageable with the cutter and configured to drive the cutter in rotation about the cutter axis;
- at least three rollers supported on the base and having rolling contact points spaced around the cutter and defining rolling contact plane disposed parallel to the cutter axis, at least two of the rollers being leading rollers disposed forward of the cutter, and one of the rollers being an aft roller disposed aft of and in alignment with the cutter relative to an intended direction of cut.
A contoured surface planing apparatus comprising a tool including:
- a main body;
- a rotary cutter supported by the main body for rotation about a cutter axis and comprising an abrasive outer circumferential cutter surface;
- a motor operatively engageable with the cutter and configured to drive the cutter in rotation about the cutter axis;
- at least three orientation contact points spaced around the cutter and defining an orientation contact plane disposed parallel to the cutter axis;
- the apparatus further including a setup fixture comprising:
- a support surface;
- a cutter contact element biased upward relative to the support surface;
- and
- a gage connected to the cutter contact element and configured to measure cutter displacement by measuring cutter contact element displacement relative to the support surface and to display a visual representation of the magnitude of cutter displacement when the tool is resting on the support surface.
A method for removing proud-standing material from a contoured surface without damaging the surface, the method including the steps of:
- adjusting to a desired cutter displacement value the distance between an orientation contact plane and a rotary abrasion contact region of a surface planing tool, by mounting the tool on a support surface of a setup fixture such that orientation contact points of the tool are resting on a support surface of the fixture, a rotary cutter of the tool is resting on a cutter contact element of the fixture, and a gage connected to the cutter contact element is displaying a numerical value representing the distance between the rotary abrasion contact region and the orientation contact plane of the tool;
- positioning the planing tool on a working surface with orientation contact points of the tool resting on the working surface;
- reducing the height of proud-standing material on the working surface by directing the tool along the working surface while maintaining the orientation contact points of the tool in contact with the working surface and while engaging the cutter with the proud-standing material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.