Reconfigurable fixturing pallet for registering and supporting multi-board panels on the table of a programmable routing machine
AssigneeCencorp, Inc.
InventorsD. Patrick Carr, Kurt J. Hill
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A fixturing pallet is removably registered on the table of a programmable routing machine and provides a platform to which tooling is registered and repositionably attached. The tooling is used according to registration, supporting, and routing requirements of each multi-board panel and its individual boards; and it serves to support and establish and maintain registration of each panel and/or board on the pallet during: (i) transporting of the multi-board panels from a load/unload station to the routing station, (ii) depaneling at the routing station, and (iii) transporting of liberated boards and scrap back to the load/unload station.
Claims23
In a fixture having means for registering said fixture to a programmable machine and means for registering and supporting at least one mother panel of substrate material on said fixture for at least partial removal of at least one circuit board from said panel, said removal being performed by a router bit mounted on a spindle of said machine, and said spindle being moveable in X, Y, and Z relative to said panel along a routing path according to a program, the improvement comprising:
- a platform, said platform having a surface with an array of perforations therein;
- said mother panel to fixture registering and supporting means comprising tooling means, adjustably repositionable over a surface of said platform, for reconfiguring said fixture to various different mother panels requiring correspondingly different programs and routing paths, said tooling means comprising at least one tool post means for supporting said panel in parallel, spaced relation to said platform surface;
- connecting means, receivable into said perforations, for connecting said tool post means selectably at different locations on said surface of said platform according to requirements for each panel to be processed;
- and
- said tool post means comprising a linear way having means for registering said linear way to said platforms, and
- at least one sliding tool post which is mountable on and slidably repositionable along said linear way.
In a fixture having means for registering said fixture to a programmable machine and means for registering and supporting at least one mother panel of substrate material on said fixture for at least partial removal of at least one circuit board from said panel, said removal being performed by a router bit mounted on a spindle of said machine, and said spindle being moveable in X, Y, and Z relative to said panel along a routing path according to a program, the improvement comprising:
- a platform, said platform having a surface with an array of perforations therein;
- said mother panel to fixture registering and supporting means comprising tooling means, adjustably repositionable over a surface of said platform, for reconfiguring said fixture to various different mother panels requiring correspondingly different programs and routing paths, said tooling means comprising at least one tool post means for supporting said panel in parallel, spaced relation to said platform surface;
- and
- connecting means, receivable into said perforations, for connecting said tool post means selectably at different locations on said surface of said platform according to requirements for each panel to be processed;
- said connecting means further comprising:
- a base adjustably attached to said tool post means and a screw receivable in said base and one of said perforations in said platform surface in order to clamp said base to said platform;
- and
- said base having a slot means for adjusting movement of said tool post means along said base, said tool post means including a fastening device travelling within said slot means for fastening said tool post means to said base.
In a fixture having means for registering said fixture to a programmable machine and means for registering and supporting at least one mother panel of substrate material on said fixture for at least partial removal of at least one circuit board from said panel, said removal being performed by a router bit mounted on a spindle of said machine, and said spindle being moveable in X, Y, and Z relative to said panel along a routing path according to a program, the improvement comprising:
- a platform;
- said mother panel to fixture registering and supporting means comprising tooling means, adjustably repositionable over a surface of said platform, for reconfiguring said fixture to various different mother panels requiring correspondingly different programs and routing paths;
- and
- at least three cones attached to one of said fixture and a table of said machine, said cones being engageable in corresponding registration holes in the other of said fixture and said table when mounting and registering said fixture on said table.
In a fixture having means for registering said fixture to a programmable machine and means for registering and supporting at least one mother panel of substrate material on said fixture for at least partial removal of at least one circuit board from said panel, said removal being performed by a router bit mounted on a spindle of said machine, and said spindle being moveable in X, Y, and Z relative to said panel along a routing path according to a program, the improvement comprising:
- a platform;
- said mother panel to fixture registering and supporting means comprising tooling means, adjustably repositionable over a surface of said platform, for reconfiguring said fixture to various different mother panels requiring correspondingly different programs and routing paths;
- and
- means for registering and supporting auxiliary fixtures on said platform to effect said registering and supporting of mother panels on said fixture, each of said auxiliary fixtures being dedicated to registering and supporting a particular mother panel having a corresponding particular panel configuration.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.