Excellon Automation Company

Excellon Automation

Hendley W Hall

W Vernon Smith

An apparatus for loading and unloading components such as circuit boards from a transport unit to a work station. The apparatus includes a flexible tape which is wound on a storage drum and selectively extended or retracted relative to the drum. Components are included to drive the drum, elevate the extended tape, sense the position of the tape and the like.

Worktable loading and unloading apparatus and method

Apparatus for providing a movable upright registration pin extending above a horizontal work surface for locating workpieces on the tooling plate of a computer controlled drilling machine. A straight edge member, disposed in a channel in the surface of the tooling plate, provides two vertical reference surfaces which are precisely located to define a line of position for the registration pin. The registration pin is maintained upright in a carrier that is slidably disposed in a channel in the straight edge member between the two reference surfaces. The rotation of a cam bar disposed adjacent the carrier applies force to the carrier which causes the registration pin to bear against the two vertical reference surfaces to precisely and securely locate the pin on the line of position. The registration pin may be pushed by the spindle of the drilling machine along the line of position and then locked in the registration position under the automatic control of the drilling machine. In a first embodiment, the height of the registration pin is fixed with respect to the surface of the tooling plate of the drilling machine. In a second embodiment, the spindle of the drilling machine may be used to automatically adjust the height of the registration pin above the tooling plate.

Movable registration pin mechanism

In a drilling machine having a movable worktable and a spindle assembly having a pressure foot, a spindle, and a removable pressure foot insert in the pressure foot, an insert changer is provided for automatically removing and reinserting the insert from the pressure foot to permit a drill tool change to be effected in the spindle. The insert changer has a gripper for gripping the insert and disengaging the insert from the pressure foot. A vacuum is preferably provided on the gripper for creating a vacuum seal region between the gripper and insert to create a gripping force on the insert. A lifter is provided on the insert changer to move the gripper into and out of contact with the insert. The insert is preferably retained within the pressure foot by oppositely poled magnets respectively on the pressure foot and on the insert to create a magnetic bonding force therebetween, wherein the gripping force created by the vacuum is sufficiently strong to overcome the magnetic bond so as to disengage the insert from the pressure foot. Further, an insert magazine is mounted on the drilling machine having bays for storing a plurality of inserts having different drill hole diameters. A method for automatically changing an insert in the pressure foot with an insert having a different size includes automatically removing the insert from the pressure foot via the insert changer, placing the insert into the magazine, taking a new insert from the magazine, and placing the new insert into the pressure foot.

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San Pedro, CA, United States of America

Hendley W Hall