Abstract: A cue tipper 42 for a stick 33 includes a positioner 44 having in a side 47, a cavity 48 centered around a preferred assembly axis V--V and facing toward a stick holder 54. Holder 54 has a device 56 to clamp a cue stick so a planar free end 35 faces cavity 48 and its centerline C-S coincides with the assembly axis V--V. A mover system 60 has a guide pin 62 affixed to holder 54 and extended slidably through positioner 44. A mover pin 64 is connected to positioner 42 and is threadably engaged to holder 54. In operation, a tip 20 has a planar end 26 contacted to the free end 35 of stick 33 and the positioner 44 and holder 54 are moved together by system 60. Cavity 48 engages primarily a desired dome 30 of a cap 22 on the tip 20and tip 20 is moved laterally and rotatively as required normal to assembly axis V--V until base plane 29 of dome 30 is made normal to axis V--V and dome centerline C-D coincides with axis V--V in a disposition preferred by pool players.

Abstract: In certain manufacturing operations materials are deposited onto semiconductor wafers. For example, in liquid-phase epitaxial melt deposition, wafers are exposed to a melt having constituents identical to the wafer material. In the past this has been accomplished by individually sliding the wafers into the melt and/or sliding portions of melt onto the wafers. This sliding creates a high amount of friction which in turns generates particles which can contaminate the melt. Also, this friction limits the number of wafers that can be simultaneously processed by sliding techniques. To avoid this a movable melt reservoir 62 is located above stacked stationary wafers 44. Prior to deposition, the melt 68 in the reservoir is separated from the wafers 44 by offsetting an aperture 64 in the bottom of the reservoir 62 from a passageway 58 leading to the wafers 44.