Machine tools
AssigneeAe PLC
InventorNigel H. New
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A machine tool includes an elongate tool holder which is mounted by a pair of spring strips for pivotal movement on a mounting. One end of the tool holder carries the tool while the other end of the tool holder is moved by an actuator via a rod. Tool positioning signals are fed to the actuator in digital form and are converted to analogue form by a digital-to-analogue converter before being applied to the actuator. The tool holder is of light-weight and low inertia and can thus effect rapid changes of tool position, so exploiting to the full the high rates of positioning signal production of modern machine tool control systems.
Claims6
A machine tool comprising:
- a workpiece holder for holding a workpiece to be machined,
- means for rotating the workpiece,
- an elongate tool holder having two ends and two two sides,
- a tool carried by the tool holder at one of said two ends,
- a mounting for the tool holder,
- two spring strips extending between the mounting and points on the tool holder intermediate said two ends, the spring strips lying in respective planes which intersect to define a pivot axis for the tool holder and diverging from the pivot axis to apply to the tool holder a restoring force urging the tool holder to a datum position,
- an actuator for moving the tool holder,
- an actuator coil and a movable output member included in the actuator and connected to one of said two sides at the other of said two ends of the tool holder,
- a position transducer connected to the other of said two sides at the other of said two ends for producing signals corresponding to the position of the tool holder, and
- a control system connected to the position transducer and the actuator for supplying to the actuator signals corresponding to a required workpiece profile, to cause the tool to machine the profile on the workpiece.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.