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US 4,099,431 AGranted
Internal milling machine for milling crank pins
AssigneeThe Wickes Corporation
InventorDavid L. Kreucher
Life of this patent
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AssigneeThe Wickes Corporation
InventorDavid L. Kreucher
Estimating the term…
The machine of the present invention is an internal milling machine designed to mill the crank pins and crank arm cheeks of heavy crankshafts to precise dimensions. By relatively simple substitutions of gage blocks, the machine is capable of milling crankshafts having a wide range of crankshaft throw and pin diameters. An internal milling cutter is mounted on the machine frame for operation within a general plane which is stationary with respect to the machine frame, the crank pins to be milled being axially and rotatively indexed in succession to a fixed position in operative relationship with the internal milling cutter. The crankshaft is supported at its opposite ends by chucks mounted in a headstock and a tail-stock which are rigidly coupled to each other by tie-rods for simultaneous axial indexing movement. Digital positioning control systems may be employed to drive the coupled headstock and tail-stock in axial indexing movement on the machine frame and to rotatively index the headstock chuck as required. Positively locked clamping systems are employed to rigidly fix the headstock at indexed positions on the machine ways and to rotatively lock the chuck at rotatively indexed positions. Both clamping systems are capable of shifting the headstock and headstock chuck to a final precisely located indexed position as the locking members are moved into their locking relationship.
An internal milling machine for performing milling operations on a crankshaft comprising a frame, a cutter holder mounted on said frame for crosswise and vertical movement relative to said frame within a fixed vertical general plane, an internal milling cutter mounted in said cutter holder for rotation about an axis normal to said general plane, said cutter having an internal diameter exceeding the maximum diameter of a crankshaft to be milled to accommodate free axial passage of said crankshaft through said cutter, crankshaft supporting and indexing means mounted on said frame for supporting a crankshaft to be milled in operative relationship to said cutter with the crankshaft axis extending normal to said general plane and for axially and rotatively indexing the supported crankshaft relative to said frame, locking means actuable to lock the supported crankshaft in a preselected axially and rotatively indexed position, and cutter holder shifting means operable upon actuation of said locking means to drive said cutter holder in crosswise and vertical movement relative to said frame along a predetermined path.
An internal milling machine for milling crank pins on a crankshaft comprising a fixed frame, spaced headstock and tail-stock means mounted on said frame for reciprocatory indexing movement along a first path, rotatively indexable chuck means mounted on said headstock and tail-stock means for supporting a crankshaft therebetween with the axis of rotation of said chuck means and the main axis of said crankshaft coaxial with each other and parallel to said first path, a cross slide mounted on said frame for reciprocatory movement along a second path perpendicular to said first path, a tool holder mounted on said cross slide for reciprocatory movement along a third path mutually perpendicular to said first path and said second path, an internal milling cutter mounted in said tool holder for rotation about a second axis parallel to said first path, said cutter having an internal diameter large enough to permit said crankshaft to pass freely axially through said cutter, cutter positioning means normally positioning said cross slide and said tool holder to locate said cutter in a normal rest position wherein said second axis is coincident with said chuck means axis, indexing means actuable when said cutter is in said rest position for indexing said headstock and tail-stock means and said chuck means to axially and rotatively locate a selected crank pin of a crankshaft supported in said chuck means in a preselected operative position relative to said cutter, and control means operable when said selected crank pin is located in said operative position to actuate said cutter positioning means to successively:
In combination with an internal milling machine for milling crank pins on a crankshaft, said machine having a main frame, a rotary internal milling cutter mounted on said main frame for horizontal and vertical movement relative to said main frame in a vertical plane, indexable crankshaft supporting means for supporting and indexing a crankshaft relative to said main frame to successively advance individual crank pins on said crankshaft into a predetermined milling position, and cutter shifting means for cyclically shifting said cutter in coordinated horizontal and vertical movement relative to said main frame in a milling cycle wherein the periphery of a crank pin at said milling position is milled by said cutter to a predetermined diameter;
In an internal milling machine having an internal milling cutter, means supporting said milling cutter for orbital movement along a given path, means for feeding said milling cutter along said path and rotary indexing means for rotatively indexing a part to be milled with respect to said path;
The method of milling crank pins on a crankshaft comprising the steps of axially and rotatively indexing the crankshaft to successively locate each of the crank pins at a single fixed milling position, and passing an internal milling cutter in orbital movement about each crank pin in milling contact with the crank pin while the crank pin is located at said milling position.
The method of milling crank pins upon a crankshaft comprising the steps of mounting an internal milling cutter for orbital movement wherein the cutter axis is moved along a fixed circular path in a fixed general plane and for reciprocatory movement along a second path wherein the cutter axis is shifted radially from said circular path to an indexing position, positioning said cutter in said indexing position and, while said cutter is so positioned locating a first crank pin on a crankshaft in a first location in general plane wherein the axis of said first cutter pin extends parallel to said cutter axis and the crank pin axis is located on said second path and radially displaced from the center of said circular path by a distance equal to the difference between the internal radius of said cutter and the radius to which said crank pin is to be milled, shifting said cutter to shift its axis from said indexing position to said circular path, driving said cutter in one revolution along said circular path, returning said cutter to said indexing position, and locating a second crank pin on said crankshaft in said first location.
An internal milling machine for milling crank pins on a crankshaft comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.