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AssigneeCincinnati Incorporated
InventorsRaymond J. Graf, Dale C. Smyth, Jr., Jeffrey D. Wintring, Robert C. Hertlein, Randall P. Coons, Jeff J. Mills, Michael A. Halley, Jeffrey E. Farmer
Estimating the term…
A gantry assembly and appurtenances therefor for a linear motor driven laser cutting machine. The gantry box is made of honey comb construction characterized by high strength, light weigh, high stiffness to weight ratio and vibration absorption. The gantry box is supported at each of its ends on a linear motor driven carriage by a torsion plate. The torsion plates are exteriorly flanked by protective panels which support a light weight cover for the upper part of the gantry assembly. The beam end of the gantry box is additionally attached to its gantry carriage by a snubber pin-snubber bushing assembly and by a gantry pin-carriage pin-link assembly. These last two assemblies, together with the torsion plates and gantry carriages, limit or restrain certain movements of the gantry box. The laser cutting machine is controlled by a high performance multi-axis motion controller. Each gantry carriage is provided with a wiper-seal assembly and bellows mounting assembly at each of its ends to prevent accumulation of foreign material between each gantry mounted linear motor and its respective magnet track.
A laser cutting machine of the type having a main frame with longitudinally extending front-side and rear-side upstanding main frame portions in parallel spaced relationship and having horizontal, coplanar top surfaces, a cutting zone and a loading and unloading zone located between said upstanding main frame portions, upper and lower workpiece supporting pallets being shiftable between said cutting and said loading and unloading zones, said laser cutting machine having a longitudinal X axis, a transverse Y axis, and a vertical Z axis, said upper surfaces of said upstanding main frame portions each having a pair of longitudinally extending bearing rails thereon, a first front-side gantry carriage and a second rear-side gantry carriage being mounted on and shiftable longitudinally along said pair of bearing rails on said front-side upstanding main frame portion and said pair of bearing rails on said rear-side upstanding main frame portion, each of first and second gantry carriages having its own linear motor associated therewith and being independently driven thereby in the directions of said X axis, a gantry extending transversely of said main frame, said gantry having ends each attached to and supported on the adjacent one of said first and second gantry carriages by a torsion plate, a carriage mounted laser head, said gantry having a pair of bearing rails, said laser head and carriage therefor being mounted on and shiftable along said gantry bearing rails transversely of the main frame and a linear motor associated with said laser head carriage to move said laser head carriage in the directions of said Y axis, said laser head being shiftable vertically with respect to said laser head carriage in the directions of said Z axis, a high performance multi-axis motion controller capable of interfacing with said linear motors of said gantry carriages and said laser head carriage, and a linear encoder associated with each of said linear motors providing position feedback for said motion controller.
A laser cutting machine of the type having a main frame with longitudinally extending, front-side and rear-side upstanding main frame portions in parallel spaced relationship and having horizontal, coplanar top surfaces, a cutting zone and a loading and unloading zone located between said upstanding main frame portions, upper and lower workpiece supporting pallets being shiftable between said cutting and said loading and unloading zones, said laser cutting machine having a longitudinal X axis, a transverse Y axis, and a vertical Z axis, said upper surfaces of said upstanding main frame portions each having a pair of longitudinally extending bearing rails thereon, a first front-side gantry carriage and a second rear-side gantry carriage being mounted on and shiftable longitudinally along said pair of bearing rails on said front-side upstanding main frame portion and said pair of bearing rails on said rear-side upstanding main frame portion, said first and second gantry carriages being driven in the directions of said X axis, a gantry extending transversely of said main frame, said gantry comprising an elongated assembly of honey comb construction, said gantry having ends each attached to and supported on the adjacent one of said first and second gantry carriages, a carriage mounted laser head, said gantry having a pair of bearing rails, said laser head and carriage therefor being mounted on and shiftable along said gantry bearing rails transversely of the main frame in the directions of said Y axis, said laser head being shiftable vertically with respect to said laser head carriage in the directions of said Z axis.
A structural panel characterized by high strength, light weight, vibration absorption and a high stiffness to weight ratio, said panel comprising a peripheral frame of aluminum tubing of rectangular cross-section, a honey comb layer surrounded by and adhesively adhered to said frame and being of the same thickness as said frame, and a thin skin glued to either side of said frame and to said honey comb layer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.