Maintenance Stand Slider Brake for Precise Aircraft Fixture Locking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing maintenance systems fail to accommodate the diverse sizes and irregular shapes of aircraft components with the required precision and flexibility for rapid inspection, maintenance, and qualification, especially in space-constrained environments without external power.
Innovation Solution
A brake and slider system that allows for infinite adjustability on a support bar, utilizing a brake pad and key pin mechanism to lock the slider in place, combined with a precision drive system for precise positioning of fixtures along the X, Y, and Z axes, enabling rapid and accurate maintenance of aircraft components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a fixed-position maintenance system is used, then the system structure is simple, but it cannot accommodate diverse sizes and irregular shapes of aircraft components
Solution Approach 1:
The maintenance stand employs sliders that can move along support bars with infinite adjustability, transforming a static fixed-position system into a dynamic adjustable system. This allows the fixture to accommodate diverse component sizes and shapes while maintaining system simplicity through the use of straightforward mechanical sliding and locking mechanisms rather than complex reconfigurable structures.
2Measurement precision
If a maintenance system with infinite adjustability is implemented, then positioning precision reaches 0.001 inches, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The positioning system is segmented into discrete components: support bars, sliders, brake pads, and key pins. Each component performs a specific function, and their combination achieves infinite adjustability with 0.001-inch precision. This segmentation allows for precise positioning while keeping individual components simple and the overall system maintainable.
3Ease of operation
If a portable maintenance configuration is used, then mobility and space efficiency improve, but the system must operate without external power
Solution Approach 1:
The maintenance stand is designed as a self-contained portable system that operates without external power. The brake pad and key pin mechanism provides self-locking capability, and the manual slider adjustment system requires no powered actuators. This self-service design enables mobility and space efficiency while operating independently of external power sources.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables rapid and precise positioning of aircraft components with resolutions down to 0.001 inches, accommodating various sizes and shapes, and operates in both stationary and portable configurations without external power, enhancing maintenance efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
a brake pad internal to the slider inner surface and at least partially congruent with the support bar, the brake pad being engageable and disengageable from the support bar
Data Source
AI summary
A brake in combination with a slider for holding a workpiece in position for maintenance. The combination has a slider moves on a support bar and has the brake configured to lock the slider in place on the support bar. The brake has a brake pad internal to the slider and at least partially congruent with the support bar. The brake pad is engageable and disengageable from the support bar by respective insertion and retraction of a key pin extending outwardly from the wall of the slider. The key pin and the brake pad are connected by a driver pin, so that insertion of the key pin towards the support bar urges the driver pin towards the support bar and the brake pad into locking contact with the support bar. A method of locking an aircraft workpiece in position for maintenance is also disclosed. The method comprises the steps of providing a stand having X, Y, Z adjustability of a fixture for holding the aircraft workpiece moving a slider to a predetermined position on a spreader, locking the slider the in the predetermined maintenance position with a brake and joining an aircraft workpiece to the fixture.