Caterpillar Inc.

Michael Patrick Vogler

Marion Billingsley Grant, Jr

Nien L Lee

Eric Richard Larsen

Thomas Michael Garland

Paul Murphy

A system is provided for manufacturing a component within a factory. The system may have an autonomous vehicle configured to transport the component to an area within an open space of the factory and to secure the component at the area during processing of a designated volume of the component. The system may also have a plurality of processing modules each configured to process a portion of the component less than a whole of the designated volume, and a controller in communication with the autonomous vehicle and the plurality of processing modules. The controller may be configured to coordinate operations of the plurality of processing modules according to a programmed process plan.

Manufacturing system having sub-dimensional processing modules

A manufacturing fixture process, and associated device for practicing the disclosed process, includes supporting a component during manufacturing by at least one rest pad, and sensing and transmitting a force signal exerted on the rest pad by the component during manufacturing by at least one sensor associated with the at least one rest pad. The process further includes clamping the component onto the rest pad by a clamping component configured to rigidly hold the component, receiving and monitoring the force exerted on the rest pad by a force monitoring system configured to receive and monitor the signal indicating the force exerted on the rest pad, as well as determine whether the force exerted on the rest pad is within a predetermined range, exceeds the predetermined range, and/or is below the predetermined range, and outputting the force exerted on the rest pad with an output device.

Manufacturing fixture system and associated process having a rest pad force sensor with closed loop feedback

A method for pre-scribing a workpiece to facilitate chip breaking when machining the workpiece on the same machine with the same tooling used for cutting, utilizing an invokable CNC cycle of the CNC machine completing the workpiece machining. The machine includes a frame, a headstock mounted on the frame, spindle fixturing supported in the headstock for holding the workpiece, a spindle fixturing drive for rotating the spindle fixturing, a rotatably indexing tool for machining having one or more cutting edges, the tool adaptable for pre-scribing the workpiece, the method including the steps of placing the workpiece in the spindle fixturing oriented in a cutting position for machining, indexing the tool down the axial direction of the rotatable workpiece with the edge of the tool in scribing contact with the workpiece on the machining surface, pre-scribing a grooved notch along the workpiece in a line pattern with the grooved notch being scribed at a depth less than the depth of the final machining depth, and, machining the workpiece to the final machining depth.

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Peoria, IL, United States of America

Michael Patrick Vogler