An apparatus for accessing an interior of a fuselage assembly. A tower having a number of platform levels may be driven into a selected tower position within an assembly area. The interior of the fuselage assembly may be accessed using the number of platform levels.

An apparatus for accessing an interior of a fuselage assembly. A tower having a number of platform levels may be driven into a selected tower position within an assembly area. The interior of the fuselage assembly may be accessed using the number of platform levels.

A method and apparatus for building a fuselage assembly for an aircraft. A number of fixtures may be drive across a floor to an assembly area to form an assembly fixture. The fuselage assembly may be built on the assembly fixture.

A method and apparatus for building a fuselage assembly for an aircraft. A number of fixtures may be drive across a floor to an assembly area to form an assembly fixture. The fuselage assembly may be built on the assembly fixture.

An impact-compensating bucking bar and its use to reduce impacts during riveting, where the bucking bar includes a body; a strike surface on a distal portion of the body, a compensating inertial mass coupled to the body by a flexible and resilient mass support, and a handgrip coupled to the body and configured for the user to urge the strike surface of the bucking bar against a tail of a rivet to facilitate upsetting the rivet tail during riveting. A relative movement of the compensating inertial mass of the bucking bar in response to a strike on the rivet head at least partially dissipates energy imparted to the body during riveting, reducing impact stresses on the bucking bar user.

An impact-compensating bucking bar and its use to reduce impacts during riveting, where the bucking bar includes a body; a strike surface on a distal portion of the body, a compensating inertial mass coupled to the body by a flexible and resilient mass support, and a handgrip coupled to the body and configured for the user to urge the strike surface of the bucking bar against a tail of a rivet to facilitate upsetting the rivet tail during riveting. A relative movement of the compensating inertial mass of the bucking bar in response to a strike on the rivet head at least partially dissipates energy imparted to the body during riveting, reducing impact stresses on the bucking bar user.

An end effector may be configured to be modular in nature such that the weight of the end effector may be adjusted for specific applications. The end effector may further be configured to accept interchangeable dollies, wherein a dolly may be configured with a jacket on a contact end of the dolly, which contact end is configured to engage a distal end of a rivet during use.

An end effector may be configured to be modular in nature such that the weight of the end effector may be adjusted for specific applications. The end effector may further be configured to accept interchangeable dollies, wherein a dolly may be configured with a jacket on a contact end of the dolly, which contact end is configured to engage a distal end of a rivet during use.

The method includes the step of positioning the sheets in an at least partially overlapping relationship. The method continues with the step of inserting a rivet that has a height through an overlapping area of the sheets. The method proceeds with the step of, with the rivet at a temperature in the range of 15-30° Celsius, collapsing the rivet between a pair of ramming surfaces to shorten the rivet and partially expand the rivet outwardly to lock the rivet with the sheets. The entire method results in a very strong connection between the sheets and with a great durability at a low cost.

A receiver-fastener apparatus comprises a receiver-fastener housing, a receiver-fastener turret, an indexing-collet assembly, an anvil, a receiver-fastener delivery assembly, and a swager assembly. The receiver-fastener turret is selectively rotatable relative to the receiver-fastener housing about a receiver-fastener-turret rotation axis (Z). The indexing-collet assembly is selectively movable relative to the receiver-fastener housing between an indexing-collet-assembly extended position and an indexing-collet-assembly retracted position along an indexing-collet-assembly axis (Y) that is parallel to the receiver-fastener-turret rotation axis (Z). The anvil is selectively movable relative to the receiver-fastener turret along an anvil axis (X) that is parallel to the receiver-fastener-turret rotation axis (Z). The receiver-fastener delivery assembly is configured to operatively position receiver fasteners for operative placement on shank fasteners, corresponding to the receiver fasteners. The swager assembly is movable relative to the receiver-fastener turret along a swaging axis (W) that is parallel to the receiver-fastener-turret rotation axis (Z).