Load bearing structure
AssigneeRenishaw PLC
InventorsHugo George Derrick, Stephen Paul Hunter, David Andrew Larkham, David Roberts McMurtry
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A coordinate positioning apparatus having a load bearing structure. The load bearing structure has at least one elongate corner piece providing at least two bearing surfaces, one on each side of the corner, for a carriage moveable along the load bearing structure, and at least one piece of sheet material which extends along the at least one elongate corner piece and provides at least one load bearing facet.
Claims14
A coordinate positioning apparatus comprising a load bearing structure, the load bearing structure comprising
- at least one elongate corner piece providing at least two bearing surfaces, one on each side of the corner, for a carriage moveable along the load bearing structure, and
- at least one piece of sheet material which extends along the at least one elongate corner piece and provides at least one load bearing facet,
- wherein the at least one elongate corner piece and the at least one piece of sheet material are separately-formed pieces.
A coordinate positioning apparatus comprising a platform on which an artefact can be placed and a movement system for carrying and effecting relative movement of a tool relative to the platform, the movement system comprising:
- a first body comprising at least one bearing surface, and
- a second body comprising at least one bearing member which interacts with the at least one bearing surface so as to facilitate relative movement of the first and second bodies, the first and second bodies being pre-loaded together, the pre-load being carried through the at least one bearing member and the at least one bearing surface,
- wherein the first body comprises (i) at least one elongate bearing track member providing the at least one bearing surface and (ii) at least one piece of sheet material which extends along the elongate bearing track member, the at least one elongate bearing track member and the at least one piece of sheet material being separately-formed pieces, and
- wherein the coordinate positioning apparatus is configured such that resultant force imparted into the at least one elongate bearing track member by the at least one bearing member of the second body due to the pre-load is primarily carried by the at least one piece of sheet material.
A method of manufacturing a beam for a coordinate positioning apparatus comprising bearing surfaces for a carriage moveable along the beam, the beam comprising a modular structure of at least one elongate corner member and at least one piece of sheet material which extends along the at least one elongate corner member and provides at least one load bearing facet, the method comprising:
- assembling the at least one corner member and the at least one piece of sheet material to provide the beam, the at least one corner member and the at least one piece of sheet material being separately-formed pieces;
- and
- subsequently machining the elongate corner member to provide a flat bearing surface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.