Shaping apparatus
AssigneeInoue-Japax Research (IJR) Inc.
InventorKiyoshi Inoue
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A body, e.g. a die or tool for use in electrical machining, is shaped by milling and/or electrical methods using a tool head oriented at a perpendicular to the contour to be shaped by reason of input signals to the several servomotors or controls of the tool head and/or sensor head. The latter is displaceable with at least three degrees of freedom, preferably including angular displacement in two mutually perpendicular planes, while the workpiece and tool may be positioned mutually with at least two additional degrees of freedom. The workpiece is finished by fluid honing with a similarly orientable nozzle.
Claims15
An apparatus for shaping a workpiece comprising:
- a sensor adapted to scan a model and generating a plurality of signals defining a plane tangent to the surface of said model and the direction of curvature of said surface at a sensed point;
- a workpiece support adapted to receive said workpiece;
- a tool having an axis and juxtaposed with said workpiece;
- a tool support carrying said tool;
- and
- means connected with at least one of said supports and operatively connected with said sensor for relatively displacing said workpiece and said tool with respect to a multiplicity of axes for maintaining the tool axis normal to a contour generated in said workpiece by said tool, said sensor comprising a plurality of fingers biased in the direction of said model, respective mechanical/electrical transducers for converting the positions of each of said fingers into an electrical analog signal representing said position, said means connected to at least one of said supports including respective servomotors responsive to said signals.
The apparatus defined in claim 8, further comprising a plate adapted to bear tangentially upon said model and engaging said fingers.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.