Motion Control & Automation

One of MDC's more recent projects was funded by a Phase 1 SBIR from the US Navy. The project goal was to design and prototype a drill for limited access drilling of composite plates. MDC used design parameters supplied by Lockheed Martin to develop a drill with a very small in footprint (1.5" x 6.25" access footprint) that could drill material stacks including aluminum, titanium and carbon fiber. The weight of the final device was predicted to be between 8 and 10 lbs, and the tolerance on the holes drilled with the prototype was +/- 0.001", using hard tooling.

The drill was designed to allow for automated drilling of materials, including speed, feed rate and thrust force control, thus improving hole quality and accuracy. Eventually a user interface would allow machinists to program in the details of the stack, and then the drill would sense when materials changed and modify drilling parameters automatically. A simple design with mostly off-the-shelf components allows for easy repair. In the long run, an innovative clamping device, conceptualized by MDC, could be added to reduce user fatigue and potentially eliminate the need for hard tooling.

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