Abstract: There is herein described a pneumatic feed or transport system for moving axial lead electronic components from one work station to another, such as from a lead cutting mechanism to a component inserting mechanism, for example.

Abstract: A system for precisely positioning a printed circuit board relative to a component insertion tool, the system including a circuit board-holding frame movable with two degrees of freedom in a plane by a servomechanism coupled to a photo detector assembly positioned on the opposite side of the printed circuit board from a light beam generator producing a single beam or a pair of parallel light beams spaced a distance equal to the distance between a pair of holes in the circuit board. Light pipes or a pair of orthogonally oriented wedge-shaped beam splitting members are positioned between the photo detector assembly and the circuit board for splitting each of the beams and thereby illuminating orthogonally oriented pairs of photo cells equally when the board is in a desired position relative to the light beams and providing to the servomechanism with an error signal to correct the position of the board when it is not in such alignment.

Abstract: There is herein disclosed a cartridge feed mechanism that is used with an axial lead component inserter, the mechanism including an indexed cartridge having an outlet port communicating with a gravity slide leading to the inserter's insertion head, the cartridge having a plurality of radially extending compartments adapted to temporarily house axial lead components until the cartridge is indexed registering a compartment with the outlet port.