Fitting doublers using gap mapping
First Claim
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1. A method of fabricating a stack of plies consisting of uncured adhesive material used to attach a doubler to a surface on a structure, comprising:
- generating a first set of digital data representing the surface on the structure;
generating a second set of digital data representing a surface on the doubler that is intended to be attached to the surface of the structure;
mapping a gap between the doubler surface and the surface of the structure to generate a three dimensional map of said gap;
segmenting the three dimensional map into patterned layers, each layer having a thickness corresponding to a respective one of the plies consisting of uncured adhesive material to be produced; and
cutting the patterned layers from a sheet consisting of uncured adhesive material to produce the stack of plies, wherein the stack of plies consisting of uncured adhesive material fills the gap and bonds the doubler surface to the surface of the structure.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus are used to fit a metallic or composite doubler on an uneven surface. A three dimensional digital map of the gap between the doubler and the uneven surface is generated by digitally scanning the uneven surface. The digital map is then used to fabricate a stack of adhesive plies tailored to substantially fill the gap between the doubler and the uneven surface.
11 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A method of fabricating a stack of plies consisting of uncured adhesive material used to attach a doubler to a surface on a structure, comprising:
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generating a first set of digital data representing the surface on the structure; generating a second set of digital data representing a surface on the doubler that is intended to be attached to the surface of the structure; mapping a gap between the doubler surface and the surface of the structure to generate a three dimensional map of said gap; segmenting the three dimensional map into patterned layers, each layer having a thickness corresponding to a respective one of the plies consisting of uncured adhesive material to be produced; and cutting the patterned layers from a sheet consisting of uncured adhesive material to produce the stack of plies, wherein the stack of plies consisting of uncured adhesive material fills the gap and bonds the doubler surface to the surface of the structure. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of fitting a doubler on a surface, comprising:
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generating a three dimensional digital map of a gap between the doubler and the surface; segmenting the digital map into patterned layers, each layer having a thickness corresponding to a respective one of plies consisting of uncured adhesive material, wherein the patterned layers include more than one thickness; and cutting a stack of plies from a sheet consisting of uncured adhesive material using the digital map, the stack of plies tailored to substantially fill the gap between the doubler and the surface; and curing the stack of plies consisting of uncured adhesive material in place between the doubler and the surface. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method of applying a doubler to an uneven surface of a structure, comprising:
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forming a doubler having a surface intended to be applied to the uneven surface of the structure; generating a three dimensional map of a gap between the surface of the doubler and the uneven surface of the structure; segmenting the three dimensional map into a plurality of layers each having a pattern, each layer having a thickness corresponding to a respective one of plies consisting of uncured adhesive material to be fabricated from a sheet consisting of uncured adhesive material; cutting a stack of plies consisting of uncured adhesive material from a sheet consisting of uncured adhesive material using the pattern of layers, the stack of plies configured to substantially fill the gap; filling the gap with the stack of plies consisting of uncured adhesive-material; placing the doubler on the uneven surface of the structure overlying the stack of plies consisting of uncured adhesive-material; and curing the stack of plies consisting of uncured adhesive material in place between the doubler and the uneven surface of the structure. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A method of applying a doubler over a surface of an aircraft, comprising:
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generating a first set of digital data representing the surface by digitally scanning the surface; generating a second set of digital data representing a surface on the doubler; generating a three dimensional map of a gap between the surface of the aircraft and the surface of the doubler, including comparing the first and second sets of digital data; segmenting the three dimensional map into patterned layers, including generating a file representing the patterned layers, each digitally patterned layer having a thickness corresponding to a respective one of plies consisting of uncured adhesive material to be produced; cutting a stack of plies from a sheet consisting of uncured adhesive-material, using the file representing the patterned layers; filling the gap with the stack of plies consisting of uncured adhesive-material; placing the doubler on the surface of the aircraft overlying the stack of plies consisting of adhesive-material; and curing the stack of plies consisting of uncured adhesive material in place between the doubler and the surface of the aircraft. - View Dependent Claims (29)
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Specification