Truss manufacturing apparatus

A nail plate pressing machine for use in manufacturing timber trusses and adapted to travel in a horizontal plane to a selected position, including:

• locating means for locating two or more truss members to be connected in respective predetermined design positions;
• a press head adapted for movement from a pre-pressing position in which the one or more nail plates may be loaded for pressing to a range of pressing positions in which the one or more loaded nail plates may be pressed into engagement with the two or more adjacent truss members in a predetermined securing position and vice versa, and securing means on said press head adapted to secure any one of a plurality of magazines within a range of magazines sizes, each magazine being adapted to hold a plurality of nail plates a or plurality of nail plate cartridges of a predetermined size respectively for loading, said securing means being adapted to secure each sized magazine in a position in which a selected edge of a nail plate or a nail plate cartridge to be loaded is in a predetermined loading position irrespective of the magazine selected;
• nail plate loading means for loading a nail plate or a nail plate cartridge from said magazine;
• drive means for driving said press head from said pre-pressing position to said pressing position and vice versa;
• a controller for controlling movement of said press head from said pre-pressing position to said selected pressing position and vice versa;
• actuating means for actuating said press head to press a loaded nail plate into engagement with the two or more truss members in the securing position;
• and
• wherein said nail plate loading means includes a pusher adapted to push a nail plate or cartridge comprising an opposed pair of nail plates from said magazine and is adapted to cooperate with any one of a plurality of different sized magazines secured to said press head and said pusher is adapted to push a nail plate or a nail plate cartridge from the magazine upon movement of said press head from the pressing position to the pre-pressing position.