Hole drilling machine and work positioning system

Abstract

A system for controllably positioning printed circuit boards or the like for the automatic drilling of holes therein. A plurality of individual work positions is provided, together with corresponding work carrier plates having individual or groups of circuit boards affixed thereto. Each work position includes a work table, a drilling machine with associated control equipment, a carrier plate for the circuit boards, and means for supporting the carrier plate and circuit boards above the work table with minimal resistance to lateral movement of the carrier plate and boards. The carrier plates are tied to a central drive system controlled by an automatic control unit in a manner which rigidly maintains close tolerances to lateral movement while permitting vertical displacement relative to the work tables. A master table is included for the drilling of a master template and to prevent displacement errors in the holes to be drilled. The drilling machines employed in the system may be independently activated in accordance with the quantity of production and the number of work positions needed in any given hole drilling operation and incorporate various interlocked fail-safe mechanism, some of which are individually adjustable, to simplify the construction and operation of the system while insuring coordinated control of the plurality of drilling machines.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.