Giddings & Lewis, LLC

Amca International Corporation

Daniel J Seichter

Michael A Glandt

William D Zettler

Ernest J Henkel

David L Olofson

Edward F Woytych

Richard C Rudolph

Frederick L Schmidt

A dynamically compensating counterbalance enables a numerically controlled contouring head to maintain proper balance through large slide travels, cutting tool radial travels, and weight changes in the cutting tool at high speeds. A counterweight within the contouring head moves oppositely to the slide direction by means of a pair of interconnected fluid cylinders. Slide reciprocation under numerical control pumps the first cylinder to slave the second cylinder and the counterweight connected thereto. The counterweight is of a high density material, thereby enabling the counterweight to have lesser and proportional travel than the corresponding slide travel while maintaining proper counterbalance. Proportional slide and counterweight travels are accomplished by employing cylinders of an unequal areas. The invention includes a servo operated third cylinder in fluid communication with the first and second cylinders. The servo control senses certain imbalances and strokes the third cylinder to alter the fluid in the counterweight cylinder, thereby causing displacement of the counterweight without corresponding displacement of the slide, which remains under numerical control.

Dynamically compensating counterbalance

An automatic tool changer for horizontal spindle multi-function machining centers constructed as a self-contained unit adapted for installation as original equipment or as an accessory. The tool changer has a large capacity magazine and is supported on an independent base so as to avoid the transfer of substantial external loads to the machine elemenets. Tools are transferred between the magazine and spindle by means of a shuttle which carries a two handed transfer arm. Interference with the normal machining motions of the machine is also avoided.

Tool changer attachment for multi-function machine tools

A horizontal bed turret lathe including a slant carriage adapted to achieve the advantages of a slant bed configuration while avoiding the disadvantages thereof. The slant carriage is mounted on a pair of horizontal bed ways offset to the rear of the spindle axis, and includes a pair of inclined slide ways for supporting a tool slide. A turret mounted on the tool slide has a pair of toolholders arranged in stacked configuration on the turret axis. For reducing interference from non-working tools and the turret assembly itself, the turret axis is skewed with respect to the spindle axis. To compensate for the skew of the turret axis, the toolholders are frusto-conical in shape, the degree of conical taper allowing each tool to be indexed to a normal operative position. An orderly tool arrangement is achieved by mounting end working tools in the upper toolholder and turning tools in the lower toolholder, the overall configuration allowing both end working and turning tools to operate up to the face of the chuck. Additionally, a tailstock may be conveniently provided on a pair of auxiliary ways, the overall configuration minimizing interference from the tailstock. The slant carriage is further stabilized by folding the slide drive and slide counterbalance assembly back into the carriage thereby lowering its center of gravity.

Turret lathe

Growing community of inventors

Fond du Lac, WI, United States of America

Daniel J Seichter