Normality control for a tool nose

Abstract

A system for maintaining normality of a tool nose to a workpiece supported on a floor assembly jig adjacent to a carriage on which the tool nose is mounted while the carriage is negotiating a bend in the floor assembly jig includes a support system for supporting the carriage on a rail for longitudinal travel along the rail. The support system has two longitudinally spaced bearing blocks and a slide on each bearing block for mounting the carriage on the bearing blocks for lateral movement of the carriage toward and away from the rail. Each bearing block includes a bearing base in which is journaled a plurality of rollers in rolling contact with a horizontal upwardly facing surface on the rail for rolling vertical support of the bearing base on the rail, and also has at least one roller in rolling contact with a laterally facing surface on each side of the rail for lateral support of the bearing base. A bearing lid is mounted atop the bearing base by thrust and journal bearings for rotation on the bearing base about a vertical axis. The slides connecting the bearing lid to the carriage for vertical support of the carriage on the bearing lid permit lateral motion between the carriage and the bearing lid in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the rail. Two translation devices, each including a servomotor drivingly connected to a ball screw, move the carriage laterally on the bearing block and holds the carriage at any desired position laterally with respect to the rail. The translation device has one portion connected to the carriage and a relatively movable portion connected to the bearing block. The carriage may be rotated about a vertical axis to a desired position facing a vertical plane through the rail by operating one of the translation devices to move the carriage in one direction relative to one of the bearing blocks, and operating the other translation device to move the carriage in the opposite direction relative to the other bearing block.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.