Abstract: A machine assembly has mist or migration lubrication distributed by an air stream from a supply site to remotely spaced bearings. An elongate clearance hole is drilled within a wall of the machine member, and cross-drilling is provided to interconnect the supply site and bearings with the clearance hole. A flexible conduit is closely-fitted to the cross-drilled holes, the conduit being bent through a smooth curve. A hardenable material is flowed into the clearance hole to cement the tubing in position, to thereby provide a smooth transition path for conveying air and lubricant from the supply site to the bearing.

Abstract: A composite tape laying machine removes each severed portion of a composite tape of a tape assembly from its backing that is not to be applied to a mold or the like. A removal tape of a material, which has a greater adherence to the composite tape than the backing has to the composite tape to which the composite tape is releasably adhered, is moved into engagement with each non-selected severed portion at least at the start of each non-selected severed portion. When the non-selected severed portion has a varying width, the removal tape is removed from engagement with the non-selected severed portion at the start of its maximum width. When the non-selected severed portion has a constant width, the removal tape is removed from engagement therewith substantially prior to the termination of the non-selected severed portion.

Abstract: Thin plates are stacked across the width of a composite tape strip. A pressurized membrane extends along the top edges of the plates, biasing the plates down against the tape strip. The membrane yields to vertical movement of the plates sliding relative to one another, in response to contour changes occurring across the tape strip.

Abstract: A fiber placement machine has a head for controlling fiber tows running from an upstream supply creel to a downstream work laydown zone, and the head includes a bracket supporting a presser member which impresses and compacts the fiber against a workpiece. The head includes a relatively rigid fiber guide assembly and a drive for moving the fiber guide to an advanced position near the presser member and a retracted position away from the presser member. In the advanced position, fiber tows run uninhibited through channels in the fiber guide. However, when it is desired to cut the fibers, the fiber guide is run to the retracted position, at which point the guide is clamped to the incoming fiber tows. After the exiting cut fiber has been laid down on the workpiece by the presser member, the incoming fibers may be restarted by driving the fiber guide and its clamped fiber tow to an advanced position where the fiber tow end may be grabbed in the nip formed between the presser member and the workpiece.

Abstract: A base supports a workpiece form-holding means in either a stationary or rotatable manner. A cross-slide and corresponding fiber creel assembly which is affixed to, and depends from, the cross-slide assembly is carried with respect to the workpiece form-holding means by a hanging carriage carried on an overhead support beam. A fiber payout eye is carried on the cross-slide assembly for guiding fiber from the fiber creel assembly to the workpiece form as the carriage and cross-slide are moving.

Abstract: An improved fiber guidance system for a fiber placement machine where a fiber placement head is moved by a manipulator wrist with respect to a relatively stationary creel assembly, and a plurality of fiber redirect rollers are used, each having a caster-like mounting base, one roller assembly being mounted to the machine member with the creel assembly, and one member being mounted to the fiber placement head, so that a band of fibers is trained around the first and second redirect rollers under tension and the redirect rollers will swivel about their bases in accordance with spatial orientations of the placement head and in accordance with tension of fiber band, thereby maintaining approximately equal tension at the outer fibers at each side of the fiber band.

Abstract: A fiber placement head is moved by a manipulator wrist with respect to a relatively stationary creel assembly, and a plurality of fiber redirect rollers are employed, each having a mounting base. One roller assembly is mounted to the machine with the creel assembly, and one roller assembly is mounted to the fiber placement head, so that a band of fibers is trained around the first and second redirect rollers under tension, and the redirect rollers are motor-driven to swivel about their bases in accordance with spatial orientations of the placement head, therby maintaining control and preventing fibers from jumping off the rollers.

Abstract: A recirculating ball nut includes an inner hollow element surrounding a ball screw extending therethrough with the inner hollow element and the ball screw having cooperating helical grooves with balls therein. The ball nut has an outer hollow element surrounding the inner hollow element and secured thereto. The outer hollow element has the same number of helical grooves, which extend for less than a revolution, on its inner surface as the inner hollow element. Each helical groove in the outer hollow element has its ends communicate through ball connectors with one of the helical grooves in the inner surface of the inner hollow element and the cooperating helical groove in the ball screw at two spaced portions to allow the balls to recirculate. Each ball connector is disposed within a slot in an end of the inner hollow element and rests on an arcuate portion of an inner surface of the outer hollow element.

Abstract: An article gripper with a fixed jaw has a movable jaw mounted on reed springs. Deflection of the movable jaw permits the article to enter and exit the gripper. The movable jaw has an inlet cam surface and an outlet cam surface, configured so that a low-level inlet force deflects the jaw and reeds laterally, while a higher-level outlet, or removal, force is directed parallel to the reed springs causing the jaw to behave stiffly and thus resist pullout of the article.

Abstract: A grinder has an abrasive belt removably mounted on a wheel for grinding a workpiece. The belt has its ends extend through a transverse slot in the wheel into a recess within the wheel. One end of the belt is attached to a first slider and the other end of the belt is attached to a second slider with the sliders increasing the tension on the ends of the belt through outward movement of the sliders by centrifugal force as the wheel rotates with the tension increasing as the angular velocity of the wheel increases. The sliders may move parallel to each other or along two separate radii extending from the axis of rotation of the wheel. Pivotally mounted pendulums may be employed instead of the sliders to apply tension to each end of the belt with the pendulums increasing the tension on the ends of the belt through outward movement of the pendulums by centrifugal force created by rotation of the wheel.

Abstract: A spindle carrier, which is movable vertically by an electric servo motor through a relatively long ball screw, has a substantially constant counterbalance force maintained on it irrespective of whether it is moving up or down. This prevents compression or tension of the ball screw. The counterbalance force is maintained substantially constant through sensing the load on the spindle carrier and using the sensed load to vary the hydraulic pressure applied to a piston within a hydraulic cylinder and connected through a chain to the spindle carrier to apply the counterbalance force.

Abstract: A tailstock body of a numerically controlled lathe is positioned by a hydraulic rotary motor at a desired position to have a quill center of the tailstock body engage one end of a part or workpiece. The positioning of the tailstock body is by a programmable controller of a numerical control receiving signals for an encoder attached to the hydraulic rotary motor.

Abstract: A tailstock for a turning machine has a housing portion adapted to be moved and clamped on the machine base, and the housing portion supports a beam portion which extends outwardly from the housing portion. The beam portion is nonsymmetrical, and of generally rectangular cross-section wherein its neutral axis is coincident with the center axis. Thus, the nonsymmetry of the center support has principle modes of compliance which are dissimilar and these modes, when added to the compliance of a cylindrical workpiece, tend to increase the dynamic stability of the tailstock end of the workpiece.

Abstract: A distortable diaphragm seal, which is preferably formed of felt, seals each end of a nut through which a screw extends. Grease, which is introduced into the interior of the nut to function as a lubricant, is sealed therein by the seal. The seal has an opening of substantially the cross sectional shape of the screw normal to the axial centerline of the screw to permit part of the seal to extend circumferentially along the unthreaded O.D., and to permit another portion of the diaphragm seal to run into, and out of, a helical groove in the ball screw, thus forming a continuous seal on the screw surface.

Abstract: A counterbalance assembly for use with a rotatable arm in a robotic manipulator, wherein such arm is rotated about a rotation axis. The assembly further includes one or more compression springs for providing resistance to compressive forces, and converting apparatus for translating the rotational movement of the rotatable arm about the rotation axis into linear deflection of such compression spring, whereby resistance of the compression spring to linear deflection in either direction along its longitudinal axis establishes an effective counterbalancing force which reduces the load bearing on the arm drive regardless of the direction in which the rotatable arm is rotated.

Abstract: A bearing block for anchoring a self-contained bearing for a moving part of a robotic manipulator to such robotic manipulator is provided, wherein the self-contained bearing has a known outside diameter. In particular, the bearing block comprises a body portion having attachment means for attaching the bearing block to the robotic manipulator, with such body portion being split into a base piece and a clamp piece along a dividing axis. A bearing race or bore is formed through the body portion and centered therewithin on the dividing axis. The bore is formed after the body portion has been split along the dividing axis, and has an effective diameter slightly undersized relative the outside diameter of the self-contained bearing to be held therewithin.

Abstract: A numerically controlled lathe has its tailstock body clamped on ways of a bed at a desired position by pucks through using an intensifier to increase the hydraulic pressure applied to the pucks to three times the hydraulic source pressure. The intensifier is automatically replenished with hydraulic fluid each time that there is release of the clamping pucks.

Abstract: A dressing roll unit is supported on a nonrotating shaft clamped and maintained as a "fixed end" beam, thereby restrained against axial movement and deflection. The shaft is formed with spaced-apart bearing points, wherein wedge-shaped relief sectors are formed about the shaft at the bearing points, and a roll body is maintained about the bearing points with an annular clearance. Rotation of the dressing roll body and roll thereby forms high pressure hydrodynamic wedges of oil at the relief sectors and annular clearances, to create an extremely rigid roll mounting unit, without the need for pivoting bearing parts.

Abstract: A laser beam combiner housing is connected to a light pipe distribution system, and has a first beam path established for a principal lasing beam passing through an inlet aperture to an outlet aperture connected to the light distribution system. An internal mirror face transversely intercepts the first beam path and is aligned with a second laser beam path, so that the second laser beam will establish a line of incidence with the reflective mirror, and the corresponding line of reflection of said second laser beam will be collinear with the first laser beam path. The second laser beam is created by a low power visible spectrum laser generating unit, so that the light distribution pipes and corresponding reflective mirrors may be accurately aligned with the principal lasing beam path. The housing is also provided with cooling fluid to create controlled environment for the principal lasing beam.

Abstract: Bore holes are formed in opposite side walls of a part in alignment with each other by two separate cutting tools in two separate machine tools disposed on opposite sides of the part. One of the machine tools is a master and the other is a slave with the master machine tool being disposed at the position at which it is to form a bore hole in one of the opposite side walls. Then, the slave machine tool is moved so that the longitudinal axis of its spindle is in alignment with the longitudinal axis of the spindle of the master machine tool whereby the two bore holes will be aligned with each other and extend through the entire part. This alignment is accomplished by a laser on a spindle carrier of the master machine tool producing a laser beam in parallel with the longitudinal axis of the spindle of each of the spindle carriers and being received by a laser target on the spindle carrier of the slave machine tool.