Woodworking – Planer – Rotary cylindrical cutter
Patent
1987-02-05
1991-02-12
Bray, W. Donald
Woodworking
Planer
Rotary cylindrical cutter
144117R, 144117B, 144128, 144252R, 144242C, 144246E, 144249R, B27C 100
Patent
active
049916360
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
DESCRIPTION
Technical Field
The invention relates to machines for planing and straightening lengths of timber. In such a machine, rough square-sawn timber is surface planed and cut to a predetermined thickness at an early stage in its use in manufacture. Such machines can similarly be used on a limited range of plastics and composite materials.
Background Art
Timber planing machines comprise a bed and a fence providing a datum line along which a piece of timber is passed for planing. Several cutters are generally provided for removing a large amount of wood from a single face of a piece of timber which is bowed or twisted, and/or for planing mutually perpendicular faces. The need to force a workpiece into contact with a cutter makes it very difficult in practice to plane mutually parallel faces of a workpiece on a single pass through the machine. At least three passes are generally required for a workpiece to be planed all round on a conventional single purpose planing machine, and this makes it necessary for the workpiece to be carried back to the input end of the machine after the second pass.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,316,491 (Kearnes) and 4,441,536 (Rautio) describe machines for processing round logs of timber. The logs are rough-squared, that is to say they are provided with mutually perpendicular datum faces. The machines are not suitable for planing square-sawn timber, and do not straighten a workpiece.
THE INVENTION
A machine according to the invention comprises mutually perpendicular spindles for cutter blocks, a first one of the spindles extending below a machine bed, a second extending across the bed beyond the first, means for feeding a workpiece past the cutter blocks at a lower level than the bed and said mechanism for conveying the workpiece beyond the first spindle.
In operation, on a first pass through the machine, the workpiece is planed on two mutually perpendicular faces by parts of cutter blocks adjacent to and extending over the bed. On a second pass back through the machine at the lower level, the other two faces are planed by parts of the cutter blocks below the bed and extending to the side of the first cutter block remote from the first pass. Two operators, one at each end of the machine, can maintain a high level of activity passing workpieces through the machine once in each direction for planing on all four faces. The sense of rotation of the cutters, if correct for the first pass, is automatically correct for the second.
The means for feeding the workpiece past the cutter blocks at the lower level is preferably a conveyor belt. This is suitable for maintaining the necessary pressure to keep the workpiece in contact with the second cutter block which extends across the bed. The conveyor belt makes it possible to use idler rollers to maintain the pressure to feed the workpiece, and consequently to do without driven rollers in this part of the machine. Alternatively, driven rollers could be used to feed the workpiece over a thicknessing table at the lower level.
The machine may be provided with spindles for more than one cutter block to plane any face of a workpiece. A moulding attachment may be provided at either end of the machine, and is preferably adjustable in all directions in order to mould the workpiece as required. The proximity of the essential two cutter blocks to each other facilitates the extraction from the machine of the chips produced in operation.
When planing a piece of timber which is badly bowed or twisted, or of great width, it is advantageous first to plane a lower face to provide a flat datum surface, and then to plane a face perpendicular thereto. Thus, in a modification, the spindles do not themselves actually each carry two cutter blocks; that is one above and one below the machine bed and one to each side of the other spindle. Either or both of the mutually perpendicular spindles drives a cutter block which is offset from the spindle itself. Any combination of such arrangements on either or both of the spindles may be provided according to customer req
REFERENCES:
patent: 2552367 (1951-05-01), Carlson
patent: 4196760 (1980-04-01), McDaniel et al.
Bray W. Donald
Wadkin PLC
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