Smart Drill Plate Guidance for Precise Vehicle Fastener Installation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for drilling holes and installing fasteners in aerospace or vehicle structures either result in defects due to manual processes or are excessively costly and complex with automated systems, lacking a balance between quality and cost-effectiveness.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising smart drill plates with machine-readable elements, drill guns, and fastener insertion guns that communicate and enforce precise drilling and fastening parameters, reducing human error and operational complexity while maintaining quality control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual drilling and fastener installation methods are used, then equipment cost is low, but defect rate increases and quality control deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces drill plates as intermediary components that bridge manual operation and automated control. The drill plates contain machine-readable elements (barcodes, RFID tags) that encode drilling and fastening parameters, serving as a mediator between simple manual tools and complex quality requirements. Operators use standard hand-held drill guns and fastener insertion guns that read these codes, eliminating the need for expensive automated machinery while ensuring precise parameter execution.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses machine-readable copies (digital codes) stored on drill plates to represent complex manufacturing parameters. Instead of requiring operators to manually input or remember numerous drilling specifications, the system creates physical copies of parameter sets in machine-readable form. The drill guns and fastener insertion guns read these codes to automatically retrieve and execute the correct parameters, transferring information from digital storage to physical execution without complex equipment.
2Reliability
If highly automated drilling and fastening systems are used, then defect rate decreases, but equipment cost and operational complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service automation where the drill plates and tools automatically provide their own control information. The machine-readable elements on the drill plates self-identify and communicate drilling parameters to the drill guns. The fastener insertion guns automatically read fastener codes and adjust their operation accordingly. This self-service mechanism eliminates the need for external automated control systems, expensive machinery, or highly trained operators while maintaining consistent quality execution.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces complex mechanical automated drilling and fastening systems with a simplified system based on information technology. Instead of using expensive automated machines with sophisticated mechanical control systems, the invention substitutes mechanical complexity with digital information storage and retrieval. Machine-readable codes replace mechanical programming, and optical/electromagnetic reading mechanisms replace complex mechanical control systems, dramatically reducing equipment cost and complexity while maintaining automated precision.
3Ease of manufacture
If manual drilling and fastening processes are used, then equipment cost remains low, but operator training time and expense increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transfers complex procedural knowledge from operators to machine-readable copies stored on drill plates. Instead of training operators to remember numerous drilling and fastening parameters, the system creates digital copies of these parameters that the tools read automatically. This eliminates the need for extensive operator training while maintaining precise execution of complex procedures, as the information resides in the machine-readable codes rather than human memory.
4Manufacturing precision
If precise drilling and fastening parameters are enforced through automated systems, then manufacturing precision improves, but system complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The drill plates serve as intermediaries that carry precise manufacturing parameters from digital storage to physical execution. The machine-readable elements on the drill plates encode exact drilling depths, fastener types, torque specifications, and other critical parameters. The drill guns and fastener insertion guns read these codes to automatically retrieve and execute the precise parameters without requiring complex control systems. The drill plate acts as a simple intermediary that bridges information storage and execution while avoiding the need for sophisticated automated control machinery.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for drilling a hole in a vehicle structure and installing a fastener in the hole. A drill plate having openings and associated machine-readable elements is positioned on the structure. A drill gun is positioned in a particular opening and reads hole information from the associated element, and a computer determines whether the drill gun is properly set-up to drill the hole. A fastener insertion gun is positioned in the particular opening and reads fastener information from the element, and the computer determines whether the hole has been drilled and, if so, whether the fastener insertion gun is properly set-up to insert the fastener. A fastener delivery subsystem stores, tracks, and delivers fasteners to the fastener insertion gun. A system computer monitors the drilling of every hole, the insertion of every fastener, and the overall operation of the fastener delivery subsystem.