US 3,990,133 AGranted

Multi-station machine tool with pairs of tool-and work-spindles

AssigneeGildemeister Aktiengesellschaft

InventorsErhard Schalles, Werner Latten

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Abstract

A multi-station machine tool wherein the bed of the frame supports two spaced-apart upright columns and the columns support an indexible shaft for a turret which is disposed between the columns. The turret has several sets of clamping jaws for elongated rod-shaped workpieces which are introduced and removed at a first station or which are introduced at a first station and removed at a second station. The number of stations may greatly exceed two, and each column supports several spindles including at least one rotary and axially movable tool spindle and at least one axially movable and preferably rotary work spindle. Each spindle in one of the carriers is coaxial with a spindle in the other carrier, and the turret indexes the workpieces in such a way that they come to rest between successive or selected pairs of coaxial spindles. The tool spindles carry holders for tools which can treat the end faces of workpieces while the workpieces are held by the respective jaws, and the work spindles include centers and means for rotating the workpieces (while the workpieces are temporarily released by the respective jaws) so that the rotating workpieces can be treated by tools which are mounted in slides movable lengthwise and/or transversely of ways provided on the bed and/or on a crosshead which connects the upper end portions of the columns.

An apparatus for machining elongated workpieces, said apparatus comprising:

a frame having a base and a pair of spaced-apart upright columns extending upwardly from said base;
a workpiece support extending on said frame between said columns and rotatable about a horizontal axis, said support having at least three angularly spaced and outwardly radially opening workpiece seats;
means for indexing said support angularly about its rotation axis between at least three positions in which said seats are aligned with angularly spaced work stations on said frame;
workpiece clamping means in each of said seats including a pair of angularly spaced jaws displaceable anglularly toward each other and defining a radially outwardly opening workpiece-receiving throat, whereby a workpiece can be clamped in each of said seats by the respective pair of jaws with the workpiece extending generally parallel to said rotation axis and having its ends free;
a headstock on one of said columns and a tailstock on the other column together defining a turning axis extending parallel to the support axis in one of said stations;
means for displacing one of said stocks along said turning axis toward and away from the other stock to engage the ends of a workpiece held by a pair of said jaws;
means for rotating said headstock about said turning axis after engagement with a workpiece and release thereof by the respective pair of jaws to turn the workpiece about said turning axis;
a guide extending between said columns parallel to said turning axis in said one station;
a slide displaceable along said guide and carrying a tool engageable with a workpiece spanned between said headstock and tailstock and rotating about said turning axis, whereby said workpiece can be lathed in said one station after release by the respective of said jaws;
a pair of end-machining tools each carried on a respective column and together defining an end-machining axis extending parallel to said rotation axis through another of said stations;
means for displacing each of said end-machining tools along said end-machining axis into and out of engagement with a respective end of a workpiece held between a pair of said jaws in said other station;
and
means for rotating each of said end-machining tools about said end-machining axis with said end-machining tools in engagement with said ends of the workpiece to machine said ends.

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Abstract

Claims14