Metal working – Plural diverse manufacturing apparatus including means for... – Type of machine
Patent
1989-12-08
1992-10-27
Schwartz, Larry I.
Metal working
Plural diverse manufacturing apparatus including means for...
Type of machine
408 98, 408 95, 408234, 408138, 408 88, 21912139, 83462, 409904, 409241, B23B 3900
Patent
active
051578220
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to improvements in metal plate working machines and more particularly to a machine capable of performing cutting and drilling operations over a single plate supporting structure.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Most metal plate working involves both cutting by means of a guillotine or by means of an oxy-fuel type profile cutter, and subsequent drilling, tapping or counterboring. Many plate working operations also require line marking for subsequent bending and welding operations.
At the present time, the above functions are performed by means of separate and distinct machines and accordingly the metal plate being worked must be transported from one machine to another. Thus, much of the labour expended in working metal plates is consumed in transporting the plate in the workshop. Where a plate is very large and heavy, the moving operation may occupy a considerable amount of time and involve expensive transporting equipment. Thus, it is not surprising that studies have shown that up to ninety percent of labour expended in preparing a metal plate component is not actually adding value to the plate. In addition, many of the drilling machines presently in use have serious limitations on the size of plate that can be accepted for drilling and even these machines are extremely expensive.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION AND OBJECTS
It is an object of the present invention to provide a plate working machine by means of which the labour cost associated with the fabrication of metal plate components may be reduced.
The invention accordingly provides a plate working machine comprising means for supporting a metal plate to be worked in a generally horizontal plane, a pair of rails extending along the sides of said plate supporting means, driven support means engaging said rails for travel therealong, said support means comprising a spaced pair of support beams extending from one rail to the other and joined at either end by cross members, means for supporting drilling means between said support beams, said supporting means being mounted on tracks on said beams, and drive means for moving said drilling means along said support beams from one side of said plate supporting means to the other.
The machine preferably includes profile cutting means mounted on said supporting means for said drilling means and extending over one of said beams and downwardly towards a position adjacent said plate supporting means.
In a preferred form of the invention, the tracks on the beams are secured to the top of one beam and to the bottom of the other beam. This positioning of support means provides optimum location of drill support means, thus reducing deflection of the drilling means due to drilling forces.
Movement of the support means along the rails and the drilling and profiling means along the beams is achieved by electric motors, each of which drives a gear box and a pair of pinion gears which mesh with racks mounted on the top of one of the rails and on the top of one of the support beams.
Each gearbox is preferably provided with a gear arrangement which biases said pinions in opposite directions so that the pinions engage opposing faces of the teeth of the rack to thereby reduce the backlash in the drive system to a minimum. It will be appreciated that accurate positioning of the drilling means and the profile cutting head is extremely important and for this reason the avoidance of backlash in the drive system is paramount.
In a preferred form of the invention, the plate working machine also includes means for marking the plate to be worked for subsequent bending and/or welding operations.
It will be appreciated from the above that the necessary drilling, tapping or counterboring, profile cutting, and if desired line marking, may be performed on the metal plate to be worked without moving the plate from the plate supporting means. As a result of this arrangement, the plate working operations may be performed far more efficiently with significant reductions in non-productive labour c
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Farley Cutting Systems Australia Pty. Ltd.
Schwartz Larry I.
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