Metal working – Plural diverse manufacturing apparatus including means for... – With means to feed work intermittently from one tool station...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-04-03
2001-06-26
Briggs, William (Department: 3722)
Metal working
Plural diverse manufacturing apparatus including means for...
With means to feed work intermittently from one tool station...
C029S02700R, C082S127000, C082S129000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06249944
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the manufacturing of machined components in high volume, it is desirable to make them more efficiently at equal or higher quality. In trying to make the components more efficiently, and cost effectively, it has been recognized that the fewer individual components required and the fewer machines on which each component has to be installed for machining will typically aid in achieving those objectives.
One machine which allows for the completion of numerous machining processes is a multi-spindle lathe. The multi-spindle lathe has numerous stations, typically six or eight, upon which various operations can be performed to produce a part. Typically, each slide of each station performs a single cutting operation at any one time.
A continuing need exists for improvements, however, in the efficiency and accuracy of machining methods in the fabrication of components for various applications.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates generally to a multi-head machine tool for machining a workpiece into an article. The multi-head machine tool has a head that holds a workpiece and that rotates the workpiece. A multi-head tool attachment machines a plurality of working sites on the workpiece during rotation of the workpiece.
In a preferred embodiment, a drill attachment has an outer sleeve and an inner sleeve that rotates relative to the outer sleeve. A drive shaft connects to a rotating shaft of a lathe, and is positioned along a longitudinal axis of the drill attachment. A first drive mechanism is interposed between the drive shaft and the inner sleeve. The first drive mechanism couples the rotational motion of the draft shaft to the inner sleeve. A drill head is carried by the inner sleeve and extending parallel to and spaced from the longitudinal axis. A drill bit extends longitudinally from the drill head. A second drive mechanism is connected to the drive shaft for rotating the drill bit relative to the drill head.
A preferred embodiment of invention relates to a method and apparatus for manufacturing a part having at least one hole spaced from and parallel to a center line of the part using a lathe, and in a preferred embodiment a multi-spindle lathe. The drill attachment of the lathe has an outer sleeve, an inner sleeve as described above. The drill attachment has additional drill heads carried by the inner sleeve and extending parallel to and spaced from the longitudinal axis.
A preferred method of producing a single piece connector includes the step of inserting a piece of stock into a multi-head lathe. The stock is rotated about its center of rotation. An interior opening is drilled in the stock concentric with the center of rotation of the stock.
The outer surface of the stock is turned to a finished surface including forming a flange. The flange is squared. A plurality of attachment holes in the flange parallel and spaced from the center of rotation of the stock are drilled. Threads are formed on the outer surface of the stock. The finished piece of the stock is separated from the stock to form the connector body.
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Briggs William
Hamilton Brook Smith & Reynolds P.C.
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