System and method for post-cure processing of a composite workpiece

1 . A system for post-cure processing of a composite workpiece, the system comprising:

a tool comprising:

a tool surface that supports the composite workpiece located on the tool; and

a sacrificial portion that forms a portion of the tool surface; and

a drill template that indexes a drilling location to the sacrificial portion for drilling a hole through the composite workpiece while the composite workpiece is on the tool.

2 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a drill to drill the hole through the composite workpiece at the drilling location, defined by the drill template, while the composite workpiece is on the tool, wherein:

the drill comprises a drill bit; and

the sacrificial portion of the tool receives a portion of the drill bit after the drill bit passes through the composite workpiece.

3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein:

the sacrificial portion of the tool comprises:

a recess formed in the tool surface; and

a sacrificial material within the recess and having a top surface that is substantially flush with the tool surface; and

a portion of a drill bit penetrates the recess, drilling the sacrificial material, when drilling the hole through the composite workpiece according to the drill template while the composite workpiece is on the tool.

4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein:

the drill template comprises:

a template body coupled to the tool; and

a template hole formed through the template body; and

the template hole defines the drilling location.

5 . The system of claim 4 , wherein:

the tool surface supports a first surface of the composite workpiece; and

the template body locates the template hole relative to a second surface of the composite workpiece, which is opposite the first surface.

6 . The system of claim 5 , wherein:

the tool further comprises a first template-indexing feature;

the drill template further comprises a second template-indexing feature; and

the second template-indexing feature mates with the first template-indexing feature to locate the template hole adjacent to the second surface of the composite workpiece and to align the template hole with the sacrificial portion of the tool.

7 . The system of claim 5 , wherein:

the tool further comprises a side surface that extends from the tool surface; and

the drill template is coupled to the side surface and extends over the second surface of the composite workpiece while the composite workpiece is on the tool.

8 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising:

a scanner to digitize at least a portion the composite workpiece while the composite workpiece is on the tool; and

a computing device adapted to generate a workpiece model representative of the composite workpiece.

9 . The system of claim 8 , wherein:

the workpiece model is representative of a contour of the composite workpiece as on the tool;

the drill template is a virtual template; and

the computing device is further adapted to:

locate the virtual template relative to the workpiece model such that a virtual drill guide is indexed to the sacrificial portion of the tool;

determine the drilling location relative to a reference frame based on the virtual drill guide; and

instruct an automated drilling machine to drill the hole at the drilling location.

10 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the workpiece model is representative of a contour of the composite workpiece as on the tool and a location of the hole relative to a reference frame.

11 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the workpiece model is used to index the composite workpiece to a work cell for a subsequent processing operation.

12 . A system for post-cure processing of a composite workpiece, the system comprising:

a tool comprising:

a tool surface that supports the composite workpiece located on the tool; and

a sacrificial portion forming a portion of the tool surface;

a drill template that indexes a drilling location on the composite workpiece to the sacrificial portion of the tool; and

a drill, comprising a drill bit for drilling a hole through the composite workpiece at the drilling location, defined by the drill template, while the composite workpiece is on the tool,

wherein a portion of the drill bit penetrates the sacrificial portion of the tool after the drill bit passes through the composite workpiece.

13 . The system of claim 12 , wherein:

the drill template comprises:

a template body coupled to the tool; and

a template hole formed through the template body; and

the template hole defines the drilling location.

14 . The system of claim 12 , further comprising:

a scanner to digitize the composite workpiece while the composite workpiece is on the tool; and

a computing device adapted to generate a workpiece model,

wherein the workpiece model is representative of a contour of the composite workpiece as on the tool.

15 . The system of claim 14 , wherein:

the drill template is a virtual template; and

the computing device is further adapted to:

locate the virtual template relative to the workpiece model such that a virtual drill guide is indexed to the sacrificial portion of the tool; and

determine the drilling location relative to a reference frame based on the virtual drill guide; and

instruct an automated drilling machine to drill the hole at the drilling location.

16 . The system of claim 14 , wherein:

the workpiece model is further representative of a location of the hole relative to a reference frame; and

the workpiece model is used to index the composite workpiece to a work cell for a subsequent processing operation.

17 . A method for post-cure processing a composite workpiece, the method comprising steps of:

supporting the composite workpiece on a tool surface of a tool;

indexing a drilling location on the composite workpiece to a sacrificial portion of the tool while the composite workpiece is on the tool using a drill template, wherein the sacrificial portion forms a portion of the tool surface;

drilling a hole through the composite workpiece at the drilling location, defined by the drill template, while the composite workpiece is on the tool; and

drilling the sacrificial portion of the tool while drilling the hole through the composite workpiece while the composite workpiece is on the tool.

18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the step of indexing the drilling location to the sacrificial portion of the tool comprises indexing the drill template to the tool to align a template hole of the drill template with the sacrificial portion of the tool.

19 . The method of claim 17 , further comprising steps of:

digitizing the composite workpiece while the composite workpiece is on the tool; and

generating a workpiece model that is representative of a contour of the composite workpiece as on the tool,

wherein:

the drill template is a virtual template;

the step of indexing the drilling location to the sacrificial portion of the tool comprises:

indexing the virtual template relative to the workpiece model such that a virtual drill guide is aligned with the sacrificial portion of the tool; and

determining the drilling location relative to a reference frame based on the virtual drill guide; and

the step of drilling the hole through the composite workpiece comprises instructing an automated drilling machine to drill the hole at the drilling location.

20 . The method of claim 19 , wherein:

the step of digitizing the composite workpiece is performed after the step of drilling the hole through the composite workpiece; and

the workpiece model is further representative of a location of the hole relative to a reference frame.