Robotic Trailing Edge Flap Drilling System

The second generation of Electroimpact's ONCE robotic drilling system has been successfully deployed in production. The automated system for drilling and inspection of skins to substructure in trailing edge flaps comprises an off-the-shelf KUKA KR360 robot integrated with an Electroimpact process head, 7th axis linear rail, and roll-over assembly fixture. The process includes drilling up to 3/8″ in diameter holes, countersinking, and inspection of CFRP/AI/Ti stacks using a 20k rpm, ATC spindle. Automated vision feature recognition and auto-normalization capabilities ensure proper hole vector and location with verification of diameter, countersink depth, stack thickness, and drill thrust being measured in-process. Tailored nose pieces enable access to nearly 100% of the structure with flood coolant, compliant tip, and vacuum swarf extraction capability.