System and method for removing a workpiece from a manufacturing fixture

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10520933-B2
Application number	US-201815952607-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 13, 2018
Priority date	Apr 13, 2018
Publication date	Dec 31, 2019
Grant date	Dec 31, 2019

Abstract

A flay assembly for separating a workpiece from a manufacturing fixture has a horizontal beam assembly and a pair of vertical beam assemblies. The horizontal beam assembly includes a horizontal beam having a horizontal drive motor. Each vertical beam assembly includes a vertical beam operably engaged to the horizontal drive motor and has a workpiece attachment assembly operably engaged to a vertical drive motor. The workpiece attachment assembly has an attachment mechanism attachable to the workpiece. The horizontal drive motor and the vertical drive motors are operable in a manner to move the vertical beams away from each other along a horizontal drive axis while simultaneously moving each workpiece attachment assembly along a vertical drive axis to cause the attachment mechanisms to pull the workpiece side portions away from the manufacturing fixture while a center support of the horizontal beam maintains a workpiece crown in contact with the manufacturing fixture.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A flay system for separating a workpiece from a manufacturing fixture, comprising:
at least one flay assembly, including:
a horizontal beam assembly, including:
a horizontal beam having a center support;
a horizontal drive mechanism mounted to the horizontal beam and having a horizontal drive motor and a horizontal beam track system defining a horizontal drive axis;

a pair of vertical beam assemblies mounted to the horizontal beam assembly in spaced relation to each other, each vertical beam assembly including:
a vertical beam having a vertical beam top portion coupled to the horizontal beam track system and operably engaged to the horizontal drive motor for driving the vertical beam assembly along the horizontal drive axis;
a vertical drive mechanism mounted to the vertical beam and having a vertical drive motor and a vertical beam track system defining a vertical drive axis;
a workpiece attachment assembly coupled to the vertical beam track system and operably engaged to the vertical drive motor for driving the workpiece attachment assembly along the vertical drive axis;
the workpiece attachment assembly including an attachment mechanism configured to be removably attached to one of opposing workpiece side portions of a workpiece supported on a manufacturing fixture; and

the horizontal drive motor and the vertical drive motors configured to operate in a coordinated manner to move the vertical beams away from each other along the horizontal drive axis while simultaneously moving each workpiece attachment assembly along a corresponding vertical drive axis to cause the attachment mechanisms to pull the workpiece side portions away from the manufacturing fixture.

2. The flay system of claim 1 , wherein:
the horizontal drive mechanism of the horizontal beam assembly and the vertical drive mechanism of each of the vertical beam assemblies include a threaded shaft rotatably driven respectively by the horizontal drive motor and the vertical drive motor;
the vertical beam top portion of each vertical beam having a drive fitting coupled to a nut engaged to the threaded shaft of the horizontal drive mechanism for converting rotation of the threaded shaft into linear motion of the vertical beam along the horizontal drive axis; and
the workpiece attachment assembly of each vertical beam assembly having a drive fitting coupled to a nut engaged to the threaded shaft of the vertical drive mechanism for converting rotation of the threaded shaft into linear motion of the workpiece attachment assembly along the vertical drive axis.

3. The flay system of claim 1 , wherein:
the horizontal drive motor and the vertical drive motors are operable in a coordinated manner to cause the attachment mechanism of each workpiece attachment assembly to move outwardly along a deflection arc generally centered at an intersection of a workpiece inner surface and a vertical plane that is coincident with a longitudinal axis of the workpiece.

4. The flay system of claim 1 , wherein:
the workpiece attachment assembly includes an attachment assembly pivot joint coupling the attachment mechanism to the vertical drive mechanism; and
the attachment assembly pivot joint limiting movement of the attachment mechanism to pivoting about a roll axis and a yaw axis of the attachment mechanism.

5. The flay system of claim 1 , wherein the attachment mechanism comprises:
at least one vacuum plate having an array of vacuum cups fluidly coupled to a vacuum source for vacuum attachment of the workpiece attachment assembly to a workpiece outer surface at the workpiece side portion.

6. The flay system of claim 1 , further including:
a center support centered between the pair of vertical beam assemblies and having at least one support pad extending outwardly from the horizontal beam and configured to be locally tangent to a workpiece outer surface at a workpiece crown.

7. The flay system of claim 1 , further including:
a rotary encoder coupled to each one of the horizontal drive motor and the vertical drive motor and configured to measure angular motion respectively of the horizontal drive motor and the vertical drive motor, and generate an encoder signal representative thereof; and
a processor configured to receive the encoder signal from each rotary encoder, determine a motion of each of the attachment mechanisms, and generate a time-history of outward deflection of each of the workpiece side portions from an initial position of each attachment mechanism to a final position of each attachment mechanism.

8. The flay system of claim 1 , wherein:
the at least one flay assembly comprises a plurality of flay assemblies arranged in spaced parallel relation to each other; and
the horizontal drive mechanisms and the vertical drive mechanisms of the flay assemblies are operated in a synchronized manner to start outward deflection of the workpiece side portions at each flay assembly at approximately the same time.

9. The flay system of claim 1 , further including:
a processor;
a memory communicatively coupled to the processor and configured to store a database of one or more workpiece configurations and corresponding program files defining a movement profile of the attachment mechanisms of the flay system; and
the processor configured to execute one of the program files for controlling the horizontal drive mechanisms and vertical drive mechanisms for moving the attachment mechanisms according to the movement profile.

10. A flay system for separating a workpiece from a manufacturing fixture, comprising:
a plurality of flay assemblies, each including:
a horizontal beam assembly, including:
a horizontal beam having a center support;
a pair of horizontal drive mechanisms mounted to the horizontal beam and each having a horizontal drive motor and a horizontal beam track system defining a horizontal drive axis;

a pair of vertical beam assemblies mounted to the horizontal beam assembly in spaced relation to each other, each vertical beam assembly including:
a vertical beam having a vertical beam top portion coupled to the horizontal beam track system and operably engaged to the horizontal drive motor of one of the horizontal drive mechanisms for driving the vertical beam assembly along the horizontal drive axis;
a vertical drive mechanism mounted to the vertical beam and having a vertical drive motor and a vertical beam track system defining a vertical drive axis;
a workpiece attachment assembly coupled to the vertical beam track system and operably engaged to the vertical drive motor for driving the workpiece attachment assembly along the vertical drive axis;
the workpiece attachment assembly including an attachment mechanism configured to be removably attached to one of opposing workpiece side portions of a workpiece supported on a manufacturing fixture; and

the horizontal drive motors and the vertical drive motors configured to operate in a coordinated manner to move the vertical beams away from each other along the horizontal drive axis while simultaneously moving each workpiece attachment assembly along a corresponding vertical drive axis to cause the attachment mechanisms to pull the workpiece side portions away from the manufacturing fixture while the center support maintains a workpiece crown in contact with the manufacturing fixture.

11. A method of separating a workpiece from a manufacturing fixture, comprising:
positioning a center support of a horizontal beam assembly of at least one flay assembly of a flay system into contact with a workpiece crown of a workpiece having an inner surface geometry supported on a manufacturing fixture;
removably attaching a pair of attachment mechani

Assignees

• Boeing Co

Inventors

• Stone Patrick B
• Moore Matthew Benjamin
• Zornes Jeffrey A

Classifications

• B64F5/10

  Manufacturing or assembling aircraft, e.g. jigs therefor · CPC title

• B25J9/026 Primary

  Gantry-type · CPC title

• B25J15/0061

  mounted on a modular gripping structure · CPC title

• G05B19/4189 Primary

  characterised by the transport system · CPC title

• Y10T409/304088

  with means to remove chip · CPC title