Patent ID: 11897074
Assignee: THE BOEING COMPANY
Field: Machine tools (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B | IPC B

Claim 2:
3. A needle array for forming ultrasonic perforations in a workpiece, the needle array comprising:
a plurality of needles arranged to form the needle array, wherein each needle of the plurality of needles is oriented to extend along a longitudinal axis from a first end to a second end, wherein each respective needle of the plurality of needles is configured to form a respective hole in the workpiece when the needle array is vibrated along the longitudinal axis at an ultrasonic operating frequency while the needle array is positioned to repeatedly contact a surface of the workpiece, wherein each needle of the plurality of needles has a non-circular cross-sectional area, wherein the needle array is configured to form a plurality of holes within a region of the workpiece without translating the needle array with respect to the workpiece, without rotating the plurality of needles about the longitudinal axis, and without rotating the plurality of needles with respect to the workpiece, wherein the needle array comprises a two-dimensional array that comprises:
a plurality of rows of needles, each row of the plurality of rows of needles comprising a plurality of needles, wherein the plurality of rows of needles is selectively arranged sequentially in order of increasing length of respective needles forming each respective row of needles; and
a plurality of columns of needles, each column of the plurality of columns of needles comprising a plurality of needles; and

a support plate, wherein each respective needle of the plurality of needles is coupled to the support plate at the first end of each respective needle, and wherein the needle array is configured to be operatively coupled to an ultrasonic actuator, via the support plate, to vibrate the needle array at the ultrasonic operating frequency.