Travelling planetary cutter

Abstract

A travelling planetary cutter (), comprising: a cutting head assembly () comprising a rotating cutting assembly () comprising a blade guide block () carrying a cutting blade (), wherein the blade guide block () is disposed for axial movement on a cutting block () so that cutting blade () may be moved towards and away from bearings () disposed on the cutting block (); a blade cam block () also comprising part of the rotating cutting assembly () and itself comprising a blade cam () defining a cam surface (), wherein axial movement of blade cam () of blade cam block () in direction () forces cam surface () to act upon a bearing () on blade guide block () to cause blade guide block () to move towards a workpiece to be cut () until cutting blade () engages workpiece () against bearings () while cutting blade () is rotated as part of rotating cutting assembly () to cut workpiece () wherein a speed of rotation of cutting blade () is maintained constant even while a diameter of workpiece () being cut decreases.