Patent ID: 8454280

Claim:
A method of forming a hole in a structure having an outer mold surface, the method comprising: providing a drill template having a housing, the housing comprises a rigid contact surface that conforms to the outer mold surface, and a drill hushing is formed in the housing; locating the drill template onto the structure such that the contact surface fits and conforms to the outer mold surface, and such that the drill template is indexed to a desired position relative to the structure; connecting a vacuum system to an integral vacuum port of the drill template; inserting a drill bit into the drill bushing; drilling a hole into the structure using the drill bit guided by the drill bushing; and supplying a vacuum to the housing using the vacuum system; wherein the drill template comprises an edge of a part locator that conforms to an edge of the structure; and wherein locating the drill template further comprises locating the edge of the part locator against the edge of the structure.