Systems and methods for coordinate transformation using non-destructive imaging

• US 10,139,806 B2
• Filed: 01/12/2015
• Issued: 11/27/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 01/12/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Szarski, Martin A., Bain, David M., Crothers, Phillip J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Elamin, Abdelmoniem I
• Application Number:
  US14/594,282
• Publication Number:
  US 20160202689A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,415 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/4097 characterised by using design data to control NC machines, e.g. CAD/CAM G05B19/4093 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/37443 Program cmm, coordinate measuring machine, use cad data
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/41 Tool

Abstract

Systems and methods for generating a coordinate transformation are disclosed. The system can include a non-destructive imaging (NDI) device for detecting the location of local surface and subsurface features in an object (e.g., an aircraft). The system can compare the location of these local features to the location of features from engineering drawings (e.g., CAD files) to generate a coordinate transformation from a machine coordinate system, for example, to an absolute coordinate system. The system can then accurately locate a work piece to perform repairs or replacements, as necessary. The system can also include a robotic arm to enable repairs to be performed at reduced cost and with increased accuracy. The system can also compare two or more NDI scans to locate or relocate a machine that has been moved. This can enable the machine to be repositioned for repairs, maintenance, or to perform a two part repair.

Claims

1. A method for generating a coordinate transformation comprising:

analyzing one or more computer aided design (CAD) files for an object;

generating a synthetic non-destructive imaging (NDI) view of the object based on the CAD files, wherein generating the synthetic NDI view of the object comprises identifying one or more virtual reference points on the object in the one or more CAD files;

scanning one or more of a surface and a subsurface of the object with an NDI device;

generating an actual NDI view of the object based on the NDI scan, wherein generating the actual NDI view of the object comprises identifying one or more actual reference points on the object;

comparing the synthetic NDI view to the actual NDI view; and

generating the coordinate transformation from a machine coordinate system to an absolute coordinate system based on the comparison.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein comparing the synthetic NDI view to the actual NDI view comprises mapping one or more virtual reference points to one or more actual reference points.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein locating the one or more actual reference points comprises locating one or more intersections of structural components in the subsurface of the object with the NDI device.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein locating one or more intersections of structural components comprises locating the intersections of one or more of stringers, spars, ribs, frame rails, and mounting points.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein locating one or more intersections of structural components comprises locating an intersection between one or more stringers, ribs, and spars of an aircraft.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein locating one or more actual reference points comprises locating one or more edges of components in the subsurface of the object with the NDI device.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein locating the one or more edges of components in the subsurface of the object comprises locating one or more edges of one or more of fuel tanks.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein locating the one or more edges of components comprises locating one or more edges of one or more composite ply drops.

9. A method for generating a coordinate transformation comprising:

generating a synthetic non-destructive imaging (NDI) view from one or more computer aided design (CAD) files describing an object;

determining a location of one or more virtual reference points within the synthetic NDI view with a processor;

scanning one or more of a surface and a subsurface of the object with an NDI device to obtain NDI data describing the object;

generating an actual NDI view of the object based on the NDI data;

determining a location of one or more actual reference points in the actual NDI view;

comparing the synthetic NDI view to the actual NDI view with the processor; and

calculating the coordinate transformation from a machine coordinate system to an absolute coordinate system with the processor based on the comparison.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein comparing the synthetic NDI view to the actual NDI view comprises mapping a first subset of the one or more virtual reference points from the synthetic NDI view to second subset of one or more actual reference points in the actual NDI view;

and

calculating the coordinate transformation comprises determining the geometrical relationship between the first subset of one or more virtual reference points and the second subset of one or more actual reference points.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein comparing the synthetic NDI view to the actual NDI view comprising comparing at least three virtual reference points to at least three actual reference points.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein calculating the coordinate transformation from the machine coordinate system to the absolute coordinate system comprises:

calculating the coordinate transformation from the machine coordinate system to an aircraft coordinate system.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein locating the one or more virtual reference points comprises identifying one or more intersections of structural components in the one or more CAD files for the object;

and

wherein locating the one or more actual reference points comprises identifying one or more intersections of structural components in the object with the NDI device.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein determining the location of one or more virtual reference points comprises locating one or more intersections between one or more of stringers, ribs, and spars in the synthetic NDI view of an aircraft;

and

determining the location of the one or more actual reference points comprises locating an intersection between one or more stringers, ribs, and spars in a subsurface of the aircraft in the actual NDI view.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein identifying the intersection of one or more structural components comprises locating the intersection of one or more stringers, spars, ribs, frame rails, and mounting points.

16. The method of claim 9, wherein locating the one or more virtual reference points comprises identifying one or more one or more edges of components in the one or more CAD files for the object;

and

wherein locating one or more actual reference points comprises identifying one or more edges of components in the subsurface of the object with the NDI device.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein identifying the one or more edges of components comprises identifying the edges of one or more of fuel tanks.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein identifying the one or more edges of components comprises identifying the edges one or more composite ply drops.

19. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

performing one or more machining operations on the object using the coordinate transformation.

20. A system for generating a coordinate transformation comprising:

a robotic arm comprising;

one or more arm motors for positioning the robotic arm;

one or more tool motors for positioning a tool holder on the robotic arm; and

one or more machining devices for machining an object; and

a first non-destructive imaging (NDI) device to generate an actual NDI view of the object comprising one or more actual reference points; and

a processor that receives input from the NDI device and from a memory that includes one or more computer aided design (CAD) files for the object, the processor using the CAD files to generate a synthetic NDI view of the object comprising one or more virtual reference points, the processor comparing the actual NDI view and the synthetic NDI view to calculate the coordinate transformation from a machine coordinate system to an absolute coordinate system;

wherein the robotic arm performs one or more machining operations on the object using the one or more machining devices and the coordinate transformation.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the one or more virtual reference points, the one or more actual reference points, or both comprise one or more stringers, spars, ribs, frame rails, and mounting points.

22. The system of claim 20, wherein the one or more virtual reference points, the one or more actual reference points, or both comprise one or more edges of one or more fuel tanks.

23. The system of claim 20, wherein the one or more virtual reference points, the one or more actual reference points, or both comprise one or more composite ply drops.

24. A method for creating a second coordinate transformation based on a first coordinate transformation comprising:

scanning one or more of a surface and a subsurface of an object with a non-destructive imaging (NDI) device in a first position for which the first coordinate transformation is known;

generating a first NDI view of the object based on the NDI scan in the first position;

scanning one or more of the surface and the subsurface of the object with the NDI device in a second position;

generating a second NDI view of the object based on the NDI scan in the second position;

comparing the first NDI view to the second NDI view; and

generating the second coordinate transformation based on the comparison of the first NDI view to the second NDI view and the first coordinate transformation.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the NDI scan in the first position comprises a first set of one or more actual reference points;

wherein the NDI scan in the second position comprises a second set of one or more actual reference points; and

wherein comparing the first NDI view to the second NDI view comprises mapping at least one actual reference point that is common to the first set of one or more actual reference points and the second set of one or more actual reference points.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein comparing the first NDI view to the second NDI view comprises mapping at least three actual reference points that are common to the first set of one or more actual reference points and the second set of one or more actual reference points.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein generating the second coordinate transformation based on the comparison of the first NDI view to the second NDI view and the first coordinate transformation comprises generating a second coordinate transformation from a machine coordinate system to an absolute coordinate system.

28. A method for creating a coordinate transformation comprising:

analyzing one or more computer aided design (CAD) files for an object;

generating a synthetic non-destructive imaging (NDI) view of the object based on the CAD files;

scanning one or more of a surface and a subsurface of the object with an NDI device in a first position;

generating a first NDI view of the object based on the NDI scan in the first position;

comparing the synthetic NDI view to the first NDI view;

generating a first coordinate transformation from a machine coordinate system to an absolute coordinate system based on the comparison of the synthetic NDI view to the first NDI view;

scanning one or more of the surface and the subsurface of the object with the NDI device in a second position;

generating a second NDI view of the object based on the NDI scan in the second position;

comparing the first NDI view to the second NDI view; and

generating a second coordinate transformation based on the comparison of the first NDI view to the second NDI view.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein scanning one or more of the surface and the subsurface of the object with an NDI device in the first position comprises scanning the object from an inside position;

wherein scanning one or more of the surface and the subsurface of the object with an NDI device in the second position comprises scanning the object from an outside position; and

wherein the second coordinate transformation is substantially an inverse of the first coordinate transformation.

30. A method for creating a coordinate transformation comprising:

analyzing one or more computer aided design (CAD) files for an object;

generating a synthetic non-destructive imaging (NDI) view of the object based on the CAD files;

positioning a machine on the object in a first position;

scanning one or more of a surface and a subsurface of the object with an NDI device in the first position;

generating a first NDI view of the object based on the NDI scan in the first position;

comparing the synthetic NDI view to the first NDI view;

generating a first coordinate transformation from a machine coordinate system to an absolute coordinate system based on the comparison of the synthetic NDI view to the first NDI view;

positioning the machine on the object in a second position;

scanning one or more of the surface and the subsurface of the object with the NDI device in the second position;

generating a second NDI view of the object based on the NDI scan in the second position;

comparing the first NDI view to the second NDI view; and

generating a second coordinate transformation from the machine coordinate system to the absolute coordinate system based on the comparison of the first NDI view to the second NDI view.

31. The method of claim 30, further comprising:

performing a first portion of an operation on the object in the first position with the machine; and

performing a second portion of the operation on the object in the second position with the machine;

wherein the first coordinate transformation relates to the first portion of the operation; and

wherein the second coordinate transformation relates to the second portion of the operation.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein performing the first portion of the operation comprises performing the first portion of the operation from an outside location on the object;

wherein performing the second portion of the operation comprises performing the second portion of the operation from an inside location on the object; and

wherein the second coordinate transformation is substantially an inverse of the first coordinate transformation.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein performing the first portion of the operation comprises drilling a first portion of a hole;

wherein the performing the second portion of the operation comprises drilling a second portion of the hole; and

wherein the first coordinate transformation and the second coordinate transformation align the first portion of the hole and the second portion of the hole to form a single hole from the inside location to the outside location of the object.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein performing the first portion of the operation comprises milling a first portion of an outside surface of the object;

and

wherein performing the second portion of the operation comprises milling a second portion of an inside surface of the object;

wherein coordinating the first portion of the operation and the second portion of the operation comprises aligning the first portion and the second portion.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the operation comprises a composite repair;

and

wherein performing the first portion from the outside surface and the second portion from the inside surface reduces a surface area required to taper the composite repair when compared to a repair from the outside surface only.

36. The method of claim 30, wherein positioning the machine on the object in the first position comprises placing the machine on the object in the first position;

and

wherein positioning the machine on the object in the second position comprises placing the machine on the object in the second position.

37. The method of claim 30, wherein positioning the machine on the object in the first position comprises moving an arm on the machine to the first position;

and

wherein positioning the machine on the object in the second position comprises moving the arm on the machine to the second position.