ASSEMBLY OF COMPONENTS WITH DATUM FEATURES

1 . A method for assembling a wing and a wing box of an aircraft, the method comprising:

providing an aircraft wing component having at least one wing attachment surface, the wing attachment surface having tolerances defined with respect to at least one wing datum feature located in proximity to the wing attachment surface;

providing an aircraft wing box component having at least one wing box attachment surface, the wing box attachment surface having tolerances defined with respect to at least one wing box datum feature located in proximity to the wing box attachment surface; and

assembling the wing component and the wing box component together by superposing the at least one wing datum feature with the at least one wing box datum feature so as to place the at least one wing attachment surface in position to be fastened to the at least one wing box attachment surface.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein a wing datum reference frame is defined by at least three wing datum features and a wing box datum reference frame is defined by at least three wing box datum features, and assembling the wing component and the wing box component comprises superposing the wing datum reference frame and the wing box datum reference frame.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the at least three wing datum features and the at least three wing box datum features are provided on the wing attachment surface and the wing box attachment surface, respectively.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein when the at least one wing datum feature and the at least one wing box datum feature are superposed, at least a portion of the wing attachment surface is in contact with at least a portion of the wing box attachment surface.

5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising referencing the wing component and the wing box component in an assembly reference system using an indoor positioning system.

6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein referencing the wing component and the wing box component comprises placing at least three targets on each of the wing component and the wing box component, and detecting a position and an orientation in the assembly reference system of each of the wing component and the wing box component using the at least three targets.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one wing datum feature and the at least one wing box datum feature are physically identifiable on a respective one of the wing component and the wing box component.

8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the at least one wing datum feature and the at least one wing box datum feature are holes.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein assembling the wing component and the wing box component comprises:

placing the wing component and the wing box component in a pre-join position, the at least one wing datum feature positioned with respect to the at least one wing box datum feature;

from the pre-join position, moving the wing component and the wing box component into a pre-final position with a gap between the wing attachment surface and the wing box attachment surface; and

from the pre-final position, moving the wing component and the wing box component into a final position by contacting the wing attachment surface and the wing box attachment surface.

10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein placing the wing component and the wing box component in a pre-join position comprises iteratively displacing at least one of the wing component and the wing box component to reach the pre-join position.

11 . The method of claim 9 , wherein moving the wing component and the wing box component into a pre-final position comprises applying a sequence of predefined moves to at least one of the wing component and the wing box component to reach the pre-final position.

12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein applying the sequence of predefined moves comprises applying three vector moves to reach the pre-final position.

13 . The method of claim 9 , wherein placing the wing component and the wing box component in a pre-join position comprises aligning the at least one wing datum feature and the at least one wing box datum feature with an offset for subsequent displacements.

14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein providing the wing component and providing the wing box component comprises manufacturing the wing component and manufacturing the wing box component, respectively.

15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein manufacturing the wing component and manufacturing the wing box component comprises:

designing the wing component and the wing box component in accordance with product features and performance requirements;

providing the at least one wing datum feature on the wing component and the at least one wing box datum feature on the wing box component;

setting manufacturing tolerances for the wing attachment surface with respect to the at least one wing datum feature and setting manufacturing tolerances for the wing box attachment surface with respect to the at least one wing box datum feature; and

manufacturing the wing component and the wing box component in accordance with the manufacturing tolerances as referenced from the at least one wing datum feature and the at least one wing box datum feature, respectively.

16 . An aircraft assembly comprising:

an aircraft wing component having at least one wing attachment surface, the at least one wing attachment surface having tolerances defined with respect to at least one wing datum feature located in proximity to the at least one wing attachment surface; and

an aircraft wing box component having at least one wing box attachment surface, the at least one wing box attachment surface having tolerances defined with respect to at least one wing box datum feature located in proximity to the at least one wing box attachment surface, the at least one wing attachment surface and the at least one wing box attachment surface spaced by a gap of between about 0.150 inches and zero inches in a final assembly position prior to being fastened.

17 . The assembly of claim 16 , wherein the wing component comprises a wing datum reference frame defined by at least three wing datum features and the wing box component comprises a wing box datum reference frame defined by at least three wing box datum features, and wherein the wing datum reference frame is superposed with the wing box datum reference frame.

18 . The assembly of claim 17 , wherein the at least three wing datum features and the at least three wing box datum features are provided on the wing attachment surface and the wing box attachment surface, respectively.

19 . The assembly of claim 16 , wherein at least a portion of the wing attachment surface is in contact with at least a portion of the wing box attachment surface.

20 . The assembly of claim 16 , wherein the at least one wing datum feature and the at least one wing box datum feature are physically identifiable on a respective one of the wing component and the wing box component.

21 . The assembly of claim 20 , wherein the at least one wing datum feature and the at least one wing box datum feature are holes.

22 . The assembly of claim 16 , wherein the gap between the at least one wing attachment surface and the at least one wing box attachment surface is filled with a filler material prior to being fastened.

23 . The assembly of claim 16 , wherein when fastened together, the gap between the at least one wing attachment surface and the at least one wing box attachment surface is closed with negligible deformation of the wing attachment surface and the wing box attachment surface.

24 . The assembly of claim 16 , wherein the gap is between about 0.100 inches and zero inches.

25 . A system for assembling a wing component and a wing box component of an aircraft, the system comprising:

a memory;

a processor coupled to the memory; and

at least one application stored in the memory and having program code executable by the processor for:

determining a relative position of a wing component and a wing box component in an assembly reference frame, the wing component having at least one wing attachment surface, the wing attachment surface having tolerances defined with respect to at least one wing datum feature located in proximity to the wing attachment surface, the wing box component having at least one wing box attachment surface, the wing box attachment surface having tolerances defined with respect to at least one wing box datum feature located in proximity to the wing box attachment surface; and

assembling the wing component and the wing box component together by generating command signals for the at least one wing datum feature with the at least one wing box datum feature so as to place the at least one wing attachment surface in position to be fastened to the at least one wing box attachment surface.