Abstract:
During an assembly process for an aircraft, segments of the fuselage are fabricated separately prior to joining the segments together to form the complete fuselage. In order to ensure that abutting ends of the segments mate together correctly, a machining process is performed along the edges of the segments at their ends. One embodiment comprises a trim-tool assembly for machining proximate to an edge of a workpiece. The trim-tool assembly includes an indexing cart configured to mount to a track secured to a surface of the workpiece, where a setting on the indexing cart varies a distance between a centerline of the track and the edge of the workpiece. The trim-tool assembly further includes a tool cart configured to mount to and translate along the track, where the tool cart includes a process tool that performs a machining process on the workpiece at a fixed distance from the centerline of the track.