Fanuc Corporation

Kiyoshi Sawada

Tomohiko Kawai

Kenzo Ebihara

Masaki Suzuki

Shun'ichi Odaka

Akira Yamamoto

Toshio Hirai

Yasuhiro Sakaida

Kouji Yamaguchi

A guide member and a slide are disposed such as to be opposed to each other through a bearing clearance therebetween. Air is supplied to the bearing clearance through a main pipe, a branch pipe and an orifice provided in the slide. Shape and size of each portions of the main pipe, the branch pipe and the orifice are determined such that Reynolds number becomes 2000 or less in any of the portions of the main pipe, the branch pipe and the orifice so that a turbulent flow is not generated in air flow approaching the bearing clearance.

Aerostatic bearing

A microscopic positioning device having machine rigidity and being capable of achieving nano-order positioning accuracy and a method of compensating tool position and orientation. A driving unit comprises two piezoelectric elements Pand Parranged into alignment along an expanding/shrinking direction. Both ends of the piezoelectric element P, facing in the expanding/shrinking direction, are fixed to a base member and a movable member, respectively. The other piezoelectric element Pis fixed to the base member only at one end. A gap L is formed between the piezoelectric element Pand the movable member. Where expanding displacement amounts of the piezoelectric elements Pand Pare aand a, respectively, voltage applied to the piezoelectric elements Pand Pis so controlled to satisfy an equation, a+a=a&#x2267;L. It is possible to position the movable member at a position within a maximum stroke a in the nano-order. The driving units may be arranged in the orthogonal directions, thereby providing the positioning device with two degrees of freedom, and further providing six degrees of freedom including rotation axes.

Microscopic positioning device and tool position/orientation compensating method

A linear driving device of compact size capable of fundamentally canceling a reactive force produced in acceleration and deceleration of a slider within the linear driving device. A slider and a stator constitute a linear motor. The stator is supported to move linearly on the base by an air bearing and the slider is supported to move linearly on the stator. When the slider is driven by the stator to move in one axial direction, a reactive force is exerted on the stator in an opposite axial direction to move the stator in the opposite direction, so that substantially no force is transmitted from the stator to the base. A ratio of weights of the stator and the slider is lopsided so that motion strokes of these members are different. Since the reactive force produced in acceleration and deceleration is canceled within the linear driving device and is not transmitted to the base, any undesirable effect is caused outside of the linear driving device. This device can be applied to a machining tool or a measuring device to realize a high-speed and high-precision machining or measurement.

Linear driving device

A groove having a V-shaped section is provided on a bonding surface of an IC chip being as a first small part, while an elongate projection having a V-shaped section to engage with the groove of the first IC chip is provided on a corresponding portion of a bonding surface of an IC chip being as a second small part. Then, the IC chips are bonded together by the action of a holding force resulting from fitting the elongate protection of the second IC chip to the groove of the first IC chip, together with a bonding force produced between the bonding surfaces by interatomic force and metallic bond.

Direct bonding of small parts and module of combined small parts without an intermediate layer inbetween

A pneumatic bearing motor with a pneumatic bearing capable of being downsized without lowering the mechanical rigidity thereof. A stator of the pneumatic bearing motor comprises a slot-less stator core and winding which is formed by winding a wire on the stator core into a toroidal shape in a maimer of regular winding. Since the stator does not have projections as exist in conventional stators, it is not necessary to form counterbores in a housing and make wall thickness of the housing large for bearing stress concentration caused by the counterbores. Thus, it is possible to reduce the wall thickness of the housing of the motor and downsize the motor.

Pneumatic bearing motor

A stator structure for a motor of high precision by suppressing influence of electromagnetic noise between windings and a distribution pattern layer in a printed board. A shield is provided between the windings and the distribution pattern layer of the printed board to shield the electromagnetic noise and suppress the influence of the electromagnetic noise to thereby enable precise control of the motor. A multilayered printed board is arranged on an axial end face of the stator core and the windings are formed around the stator core and the multilayered printed board to enfold them toroidally in a regular winding manner. The multilayered printed board comprises a distribution pattern layer for connection with the windings and a shield layer for shielding electromagnetism between the distribution pattern layer and the windings.

Stator structure of motor

A winding of a motor is formed by coiling a wire around a slotless stator core with combination of troidal coiling and array coiling. The toroidal coiling is carried out in a manner such that the wire is coiled without any intersecting turns in one direction for the formation of the winding as it is coiled rotating spirally. By this coiling method, the accuracy of the position of the winding in the direction tangent to the surface of the stator core can be improved. The array coiling is carried out in a manner such that the winding is formed in layers that are stacked on one another. By this coiling method, the accuracy of the position of the winding in the direction normal to the surface of the stator core can be improved. Thus, the overall thickness of the winding can be made uniform.

Method for coiling a wire around a stator core

A plurality of electrostrictive elements,are located about the perimeter section of a table,. The table is fixed to a table fixing member,. The table fixing member,is prohibited from rotating by guide pins,. When a servo motor,&prime; constituting a rotational drive mechanism,is driven by passing a current through a stator,therein, the rotor,rotates. Thereby, the table fixing member,, which has a female screw thread,that engages with a male screw thread,formed in the rotor,, moves in a vertical direction. The table,also moves in a vertical direction and can be registered in a desired position. Inclination of the table,caused by processing errors in the male screw,and female screw,is adjusted to a horizontal position or a desired angle, by driving the electrostrictive elements

Vertical axis translation mechanism

An oscillating device is fixed to the lower end of a column of a profiling electrical discharge machining apparatus, and an electrode holder for holding a tool electrode is attached to the oscillating device. The oscillating device is composed of a block formed of a material with suitable elasticity and right- and left-hand piezoelectric elements embedded under a pilot pressure in the block. By alternately driving these piezoelectric elements, the tool electrode is subjected to a motion such that a displacement much smaller than the size of a gap between the tool electrode and a workpiece is repeated during a machining operation with a short period in a predetermined direction and a direction substantially opposite thereto.

Profiling electrical discharge machining apparatus

Method and apparatus for electrical discharge machining with control of

An electric discharge machine designed to prevent an impactive high-speed motion generated upon actuation of an electrode actuator from propagating to a quill, as well as to enable the rapid retreat of a tool electrode by the electrode actuator to be performed efficiently. The tool electrode is attached to a quill through an elastic supporting element and a piezoelectric actuator, with the elastic supporting element disposed on the side of the quill. The elastic supporting element has an elasticity whose degree is set so as not to adversely affect normal positioning of the tool electrode, and the piezoelectric actuator facilitates rapid retreat of the tool electrode. A support body includes a counter weight having a weight large enough to absorb the component of the impactive high-speed motion of the electrode actuator which acts toward the quill.

Growing community of inventors

Sizuoka, Japan

Kiyoshi Sawada