ADHESIVE INJECTION PROCESS FOR PI-JOINT ASSEMBLIES

An adhesive injection process for a Pi-joint assembly comprises the steps of: machining at least two ports into a female part of a Pi-joint assembly; inserting a filler into a gap between a male part and the female part; applying a sealant above the filler; creating a vacuum with a vacuum pump at one port; injecting an adhesive through another port; and drawing the adhesive towards the vacuum pump until the gap under the filler is completely filled with the adhesive. The adhesive injection process incorporates lean technologies that enable increased productivity during the assembly of a Pi-joint design using adhesive bonding. The adhesive injection process is suitable for, but not limited to, applications in the aerospace industry, such as the aircraft airframe assembly. The adhesive injection process may be used for the bonding of upper and lower skins to airframe structure as well as for structure-to-structure bonding.