US 4,288,681 AGranted

Apparatus for fabricating isolated phase bus

AssigneeGeneral Electric Company

InventorRoy A. Niemann

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Abstract

The apparatus includes a pair of rotatable headstocks which are spaced apart. A side beam extends along at least a portion of the distance between the headstocks with the side beam being substantially parallel to a line connecting the centers of rotation of the headstock. The headstocks are respectively of a configuration to securely receive an end of a first one of a plurality of cylindrical workpieces. Support means is provided for rotatably supporting the plurality of cylindrical workpieces in end-to-end manner with the longitudinal axes thereof being substantially coincident. Controllable welding means and controllable cutting means are coupled to the side beam and are capable of linear translation therealong. Controllable drive means is provided for: rotating the headstocks so that the cylindrical workpiece secured thereto is caused to rotate about its longitudinal axis; causing the welding means to translate along the side beam; and causing the cutting means to translate along the side beam. Control means is provided for controlling the drive means and for: activating the welding means into welding operation; activating the cutting means into cutting operation; and, for coordinating the control function to weld a plurality of the cylindrical workpieces together in end-to-end manner and to then cut a plurality of openings in the welded together workpieces with the welding locations and the openings being substantially precisely located in a predetermined reproducible manner.

Claims14

Dependent claims

Apparatus for use in processing a plurality of cylindrical workpieces employed in the fabrication of an isolated phase bus system, the isolated phase bus system being of the type which includes a cylindrical bus conductor and a mating enclosure therefor, which comprises:

(a) at least one rotatable headstock, said rotatable headstock being of a configuration to securely receive an end of a first one of a plurality of cylindrical workpieces of a first diameter;
(b) support means for rotatably supporting said plurality of cylindrical workpieces when said plurality of cylindrical workpieces are disposed in end-to-end manner such that the longitudinal axes thereof are substantially coincident;
(c) a side beam adjacent to said headstock and extending along a line parallel to the axis of rotation of said rotatable headstock;
(d) controllable workpiece welding means coupled to said side beam, said welding means being capable of linear translation along the length of said side beam;
(e) controllable workpiece cutting means comprising a cutting torch coupled to said side beam, said cutting means being capable of linear translation along the length of said side beam independently of said welding means;
(f) drive means, which includes:
(i) controllable first drive means for rotating said headstock so that the cylindrical workpiece secured thereto is caused to rotate about its longitudinal axis,
(ii) controllable second drive means for causing said welding means to translate along said side beam;
(iii) controllable third drive means for causing said cutting means to translate along said side beam independently of said welding means;
and
(g) processing control means, which includes:
(i) first control means for controlling said first drive means;
(ii) second control means for controlling said second drive means and the activation of said welding means into welding operation;
(iii) third control means for controlling said third drive means and the activation of said cutting means into cutting operation and operable to activate said cutting means while said cutting means is being translated along said side beam;
and
(iv) fourth control means for coordinating said first, second and third control means (a) to weld a plurality of said cylindrical workpieces together in end-to-end manner and (b) to then cut a plurality of openings in said welded-together workpieces, said welding locations and said openings being substantially precisely located in a predetermined reproducible manner.

13 more elements

(a) at least one rotatable headstock, said rotatable headstock being of a configuration to securely receive an end of a first one of a plurality of cylindrical workpieces of a first diameter;
(b) support means for rotatably supporting said plurality of cylindrical workpieces when said plurality of cylindrical workpieces are disposed in end-to-end manner such that the longitudinal axes thereof are substantially coincident;
(c) a side beam adjacent to said headstock and extending along a line parallel to the axis of rotation of said rotatable headstock;
(d) controllable workpiece welding means coupled to said side beam, said welding means being capable of linear translation along the length of said side beam;
(e) controllable workpiece cutting means comprising a cutting torch coupled to said side beam, said cutting means being capable of linear translation along the length of said side beam independently of said welding means;
(f) drive means, which includes:
(i) controllable first drive means for rotating said headstock so that the cylindrical workpiece secured thereto is caused to rotate about its longitudinal axis,
(ii) controllable second drive means for causing said welding means to translate along said side beam,
(iii) controllable third drive means for causing said cutting means to translate along said side beam independently of said welding means;
and
(g) processing control means, which includes:
(first control means for controlling said first drive means,
(ii) second control means for controlling said second drive means and the activation of said welding means into welding operation,
(iii) third control means for controlling said third drive means and the activation of said cutting means into cutting operation and operable to activate said cutting means while said cutting means is being translated along said side beam, and
(iv) fourth control means for coordinating said first, second and third control means (a) to weld a plurality of said cylindrical workpieces together in end-to-end manner and (b) to then cut a plurality of openings in said welded-together workpieces, said welding locations and said openings being substantially precisely located in a predetermined reproducible manner so that a cylindrical bus conductor fabricated from cylindrical workpieces of said first diameter by the apparatus is substantially mateable with a cylindrical enclosure fabricated from cylindrical workpieces of a larger diameter by the apparatus, said mateability including said openings of said welded-together first diameter workpieces being substantially longitudinally and angularly aligned with said openings of said welded-together larger diameter workpieces.

12 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.