US3547002A - Routing machine - Google Patents

Description

"United States Patent [72] Inventor v John F. Walter Atlanta, Ga. [21] Appl. No. 726,139 [22] Filed May 2, 1968 [45] Patented Dec. 15, 1970 [73] Assignee Lockheed Aircraft Corporation Burbank, Calif.

[54] ROUTING MACHINE 16 Claims, 7 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S.Cl 90/13.], 144/144 [51] Int. Cl B23c H16 [50] FieldofSearch ..90/13, 13.7, 13.1, 13.2,12; 144/144 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,357,203 10/1920 Overlin 144/144 Primary ExaminerGcrald A. Dost Altorneyslames A. l-linkle and George C. Sullivan ABSTRACT: A routing machine having substantial automatic capabilities to rout several workpieces at once which will conform to a template. The template and workpieces, either of linear or curvilinear shape depending upon the holding fixture configuration, are clamped in the holding fixture comprising several jaw pairs each of which are opened and closed by pneumatically operated bags. A self propelled gantry is movably attached to the holding fixture and is adapted to move around the periphery of the holding fixture throughout the area encompassed by the template and work pieces. The gantry contains a tracer system which follows the contours of the template. Routers on the gantry, being controlled by the tracer system to duplicate the contours of the template, rout the workpieces to the same configuration.

PATENTEDBEB 1 519m SHEET 1 OF 6 [Hun].

FT H3 57- INVIiN'I'OR. JOHN F. WALTER Attorney PATENTEBDEHSIETB $547,002

SHEET 2 SF 6 INVIIN'I'OR. JOHN F. WALTER 14 yhmzm Attorney PATENTEB DEC 1 5 I976 SHEU 3 BF 6 lNl lz'N'l'Ok'. JOHN F. WALTER Attorney PATENTEDIJEMSIHYB $541002 JOHN F. WALTER QWQM Horney nourrso MACHINE- The present invention relates to routing machines and more particularly to a routing machine which is curvilinear in design and may automatically rout several workpieces of curvilinear configuration.

In certain manufacturing operations, it is quite frequently desirable to remove substantial amounts of material from workpieces so as to conform the workpiece to a desired configuration. The removal process is frequently conducted with routing machines because of their particular adaptability to this type of machining operation. This is particularly true in industrial operations where metal extrusions are utilized which must be greatly reduced in size and weight and where the final endproduct must conform to rather complex configurations. A good example is in the aircraft industry where fuselage ribs and other elongated stock must be conformed from normally extruded T-bar stock. In the case of fuselage ribs the T-bar stock is normally stretch formed-in a stretch press to accept the shape and radius of curvature for the desired portion of the fuselage in which the particular rib will be utilized.

In the course of the routing operation, the workpiece, such as the T-shaped stock described above, will have the desired portions routed away, which operation is'of course dictated by weight, strength and other design criteriato which the final production piece is to be put.

In current industry fabrication methods, hand routing is normally employed and each work piece is operated upon one at a time using independent routing fixtures, or blocks, with integral cam cutouts specifically designed to the part being worked upon. In practice the aforementioned router blocks are normally placed upon a work table and then the workpiece is hand clamped into the router blocks, which necessitates tightening by hand of several fasteners-to maintain the workpiece rigidly secured within the router block. After this is performed, the machine operator then takes the block and hand manipulates the block across the cutting edge of the router bit. As is quite frequently the case, the router blocks are of substantial size and this necessitates that there be more than one operator. The sheer size and weight of the large router blocks make this operation extremely ditficult and requires specialized cranes for moving the blocks in and out of storage areas. Also, the normal routing operation only machines one workpiece at a time since it has not been feasible to machine several workpieces concurrently due to the size and weight of the router blocks being utilized.

Therefore, a primary object of the present invention is the provision of a routing machine which isautomatic in operation and will rout multiple workpieces of curvilinear shape. The routing machine of this invention is proposed to handle multiple workpieces at one time wherein these work pieces are placed in the self clamping system of the machine thereby eliminating handling of heavy routing blocks and of the manual clamping of each work piece to the routing block.

The present invention also proposes to automatically rout multiple workpieces having a curvilinear configuration by means of a movable gantry associated withthe holding fixture portion of the routing machine and wherein the gantry contains suitable tracing equipment to follow a predetermined path around the holding fixture thereby guiding the routers in a prescribed manner. Additionally, the present proposed routing machine will produce parts of high quality and accuracy at a substantial reduction in labor and costs.

Other objects, advantages and capabilities of the invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings showing only a preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings: 1

FIG. 1 is illustrative of an overall perspective view of the routing machine of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial front elevationview showing especially the gantry;

FIG. 3 is a vertical section view taken along lines 3-3 of FIG. 2:

FIG. 4 is a partial top view taken generally along lines 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view in elevation of one end of the routing machine taken along lines 5-5 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a vertical section view of the routing portions of the gantry taken along lines 6-6 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 7 is a partial elevation view of the top portion of the gantry showing the control hydraulic cylinders broken away.

Referring to the drawings wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several FIGS., the routing machine 11 generally comprises two major components, one being the holding fixture l2 and the other being the gantry 13. The holding fixture 12 as shown in FIG. 1 is generally of semicircular configuration. This, however, is not a necessary requirement as this invention contemplates routing machines of similar nature that could be of irregular shapes. The holding fixture 12 is generally that portion of the routing machine which clamps both the workpieces to be worked upon and the tooling template cam which determines the final configuration of the workpieces.

The gantry I3 is designed to be movably attached to the holding fixture 12 in such a manner that it moves about the periphery of the holding fixture in a predetermined path so that the tracing equipment and routing equipment attached integrally to the gantry will perform their desired operations relative thereto. While the tracing and routing equipment of the gantry 13 is designed to perform routing on three axes, namely X, Y, and Z, the present invention as disclosed herein precludes the use of Z axis routing as it is apparent that the holding fixture 12 is of fixed radius and, therefore, the Z axis travel is fixed and the depth of cut is'built into the routing motors. However, it should be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present machine could be easily adapted to a three axis operation. Electrical, hydraulic, and pneumatic power is supplied to the gantry 13 through suitable conduits 15 which are supported for circular movement by the boom 14.

The holding fixture 12 as has been noted is generally a semicircular piece of equipment and is made up of a series of fixed plates maintained at predetermined distances from one another and interspaced by a series of movable plates in stacked relation therewith. More specifically, referring to FIG. 3, the series of stacked plates are flanked by an upper tooling plate 21 and a lower tooling plate 27. Between the aforementioned plates there are fixed clamping plates 23 and 25 which are held in spaced relation from one another and from the upper and lower tooling plates 21 and 27 respectively by means of through bolts 28 in conjunction with positioning lock nuts 29. Located at spaced intervals along the through bolts 28 and fixedly maintained in proper position by the positioning lock nuts 29 are a series of bearing sleeves 31. These hearing sleeves provide a bearing and stabilization surface for the movable clamping plates.

Interspaced between pairs of fixed plates are movable clamping plates 22, 24, and 26. Each of these movable clamping plates are designed to have apertures 32 suitable for sliding engagement with the bearing sleeves 31. Referring particularly to FIG. 4, it is seen that for ease of manufacture in the initial tooling the fixed and movable clamping plates, in addition to the upper and lower tooling plates, are normally made segmented and then fastened together with suitable fasteners 30. The upper and lower tooling plates, movable clamping plates and fixed clamping plates all coact with one another to form the clamping system of the holding fixture 12 which maintains the workpieces 34 and tooling template cam 33 in desired operative positions.

Referring again to FIG. 3 for a view in cross section of the clamping system, it is noted that the upper tooling plate 21 has depending perpendicularly from the forward face thereof a T- shaped pusher plate 21a. The pusher plaw 21a is designed for reciprocative movement into and out of a channel formed by a pair of flanking clamping hose guides 35 which are attached to the forward portion of movable clamping plate 22. Similar clamping hose guides 36 and 37 are affixed to respective movable clamping plates 24 and 26. The latter clamping hose guides receive for reciprocative movement therein pusher plates 23a and 25a which are attached respectively to fixed clamping plates 23 and 25. Q

in order that the tooling template cam 33 and the workpieces 34 may be fixedly secured in proper operative position there are provided sets of jaws affixed to the various clamping and tooling plates which are adapted to' clampingly engage the template cam 33 and the workpieces 34 in a manner to be described. Each of the movable clamping plates 22, 24 and 26 have affixed to their forward edges a downwardly depending jaw respectively indicated by numerals 38, 40, and 42. The aforementioned jaws are affixed to the respective movable clamping plates by means of suitable fasteners 20. Projecting upwardly from the fixed clamping plates 23 and 25 and the fixed lower tooling plate 27 are lower jaws 39, 41 and 43, respectively. These latter jaws are so placed as to be in perfect registry with the depending clamping jaws '38, 40 and 42 thereby forming jaw pairs so that, when the jaws are in a clamped relation, the tooling template cam 33 and the workpieces 34 are firmly positioned therebetween. It should be noted that the jaws as above described aresuitably affixed to the front faces of the various clamping plates by fasteners 20. It follows that the jaws must have the same radius of curvature as the front faces of the clamping plates. This radius of curvature is obviously the same radius as the tooling template cam and the workpieces.

As just discussed, the jaw pairs of the routing machine are designed to clampingly engage the workpieces and the tooling template cam. This of course necessitates some means for lifting the jaws apart so that the workpieces'and the tooling template cam, if desired, may be removed from the jaws in order that additional workpieces may be positioned therein preparatory to routing them. This is accomplished by lifting the movable clamping plates 22, 24, and 26 by a lifting means mounted near the center of gravity of each movable clamping plate thereby providing an equalized lifting pressure so that the clamping plates are balanced and raised evenly. Each of the movable clamping plates 22, 24, and 26 have affixed to their undermost sides lifting plates 44, 45, and 46, respectively. These lifting plates may of course take any suitable shape. However, it has been found that thickened, l-shaped beams are quite suitable. Each of the lifting plates rides up and down in a channel formed by respective sets of generally L-shaped lifting hose channel guides 47, 48, and 49. The channel guides are affixed by fasteners in flanking relation with respect to the lifting plates upon respective fixed clamping plates 23 and in addition to the'lower tooling plate 27.

To lift the movable clamping plates to a nonclamping position, a unique lifting system is employed wherein pairs of pneumatically expandable elongated cylinders are utilized. Referring specifically to FIGS. 3 and 5, it is seen that the respective lifting plates 44, 45, and 46 are each mounted so thatzthese plates compress a pair of lifting hoses between the lifting plates and the respective fixed clamping plates. The lifting hose channel guidesv 47, 48, and 49 provide sidewalls which maintain the lifting hoses in the required location and maintain the hoses with a desired curvature therein. It is seen that channel guides 47 enclose lifting hoses 51 and 52 beneath lifting plate 44. Likewise, channel guides 48 maintain lifting hoses 53 and'54 in proper relation with the lifting plate 45 and channel guides 49 perform a like function for lifting hoses 55 and 56 with respect to lifting plate 46.

ing-actual practice it has been found that a very suitable pneumatic bag or lifting hose is the commonplace 4 6- inch diameter double-thickness fire hose. While the ordinary type of 'fire hose is highly satisfactory, it should in no way be construed as limiting since specialized pneumaticbags may well be employed if desired.

During development of the present invention, it was found that. while the tooling and clamping plates were made of material having substantial dead weight, it was not believed that the entire clamping force upon the tooling template cam 33 and the workpieces 34 should be that produced by the dead weight of the various clamping plates. Therefore, to provide a positive downward clamping pressure, upon the various jaws, a second system of inflatable elongated pneumatic bags was employed directly above each jaw pair. in order to accomplish this function, pairs of clamping hoses are provided. Movable clamping plate 22 is activated downwardly at appropriate times by inflating clamping hoses 57 and 58 which lie within clamping hose guides 35. Likewise, the movable clamping plate 24 is pressed downwardly to its firmclamping position by action of clamping hoses 59 and 60 lying within clamping hose guides 36 and clamping hoses 6 1 and 62 lying within clamping hose guides 37 force movable clamping plate 26 downwardly to its firmly clamped position.

Referring now especially to FIG. 5,'the clamping hoses are supplied with a pneumatic pressure from the clamping hose manifold 63 and the lifting hoses are supplied with pneumatic pressure from the lifting hose manifold 64. Each of the pairs of clamping hoses are supplied with pneumatic pressure from the clamping hose manifold 63 through piping 65 to a regulating valve 66 and a dumping valve 67. The pressure is thence fed to a T-valve 68 which distributes the pressure between flexible lines 69 and 70 for further distribution into the clamping hoses by way of the end caps 71. The free ends of the clamping hoses are maintained against unnecessary movement by means of restraining clamps 72 which are affixed to vertical supports 73.

An arrangement similar to that just described for the clamping hoses is applicable to the lifting hoses wherein the lifting hoses are supplied pneumatic pressure from .the lifting hose manifold 64 through piping 74 and regulating valve 75 into a control valve 76. Thence the pneumatic pressure flows through flexible lines 77 into the lifting hoses which are capped by end caps 78. The major difference between the pneumatic supply means of the lifting hoses as opposed to the clamping hoses is that each separate lifting hose has its own regulating and control valves, while with the clamping hoses one regulating valve and one control valve effectively control the operation of each pair of clamping hoses.

The concept behind this arrangement is that it is always desired to have as much clamping pressure as practicable upon the workpieces and the tooling template cam. However, depending upon the size of the stock to beinserted into the pairs of jaws, it may at times be desirable to only open the jaws half of the maximum amount of opening possible. Therefore, with the arrangement as shown with the lifting hoses, one hose or the other of each pair may be activated by means of the control valves 76 so that pneumatic pressure is supplied only to one hose consequently lifting the clamping jaws half of the maximum possible distance. This is of course but a design feature for convenience of operation and to enable a conservation of pneumatic pressure. The free ends of the pairs of lifting hoses are maintained against unrestricted movement by means of restraining clamps 79 attached to the vertical support 80.

Each of the valves 67 and 76 controlling the various pairs of either lifting or clamping hoses have associated therewith an electrically operated solenoid which controls the operation of the control valves so that pneumatic pressure is supplied to the lifting and clamping hoses or dumped therefrom at proper times. The electrically operated solenoids for the control valves 67 and 76 are so interlocked through limit switches 81 that it is impossible to activate and supply pneumatic pressure to the lifting hoses and clamping hoses at the same time as this would destroy the routing machine .by putting counter forces in it that might exceed the limits of the strength of the design.

Therefore, to prevent such an occurrence protective limit switches 81 are adjacently disposed to the lower surface of each of the movable clamping plates 22, 24, and 26. These limit switches are operable to control the solenoid of the clamping hose pairs control valves 67 so that the movable clamping plates 22, 24, and 26 must be in a fully down position resting against the limit switches 81 in order to make a circuit which will allow pneumatic pressure to flow into the pairs of clamping hoses. This of course means that the pairs of lifting hoses must be fully deflated before the movable clamping plates fall by their own weight to the fully downward position thereby activating the limit switches 81 to controllably fill the pairs of clamping hoses with pneumatic pressure.

Referring to FlG. 3, it is seen that the routing machine is in the fully clamped operative mode wherein'the pairs of lifting hoses 51, 52 and 53, 54 and 55, 56 are in the fully deflated configuration thereby allowing the movable clamping plates 22, 24, and 26 to move to their fully downward position. The inflatable clamping hose pairs 57, 58 and 59, 60 and 61, 62 are shown in the fully inflated operative mode to thereby exert sufficient downward pressure upon the jaws 38, 40, and 42 thereby clamping the tooling template cam 33 and each workpiece 34 tightly in the routing machine.

The above description has dealt with the holding fixture 12 and its function. However, it is the gantry 13 which performs the routing function of the present inventiomReferring now specifically to FIGS. 2 and 3, it is evident that the gantry 13 traverses around the periphery of the holding fixture 12 so that the gantry is always at a precise fixed distance relative to the holding fixture. The gantry 13 generally comprises a vertically mounted traversing support plate 82 suspended from the holding fixture by means of an integrally upper gantry support mechanism 83 and an integrally attached lower gantry support mechanism 84. The upper and lower support mechanisms 83 and 84 are in effect stabilizing devices to keep the gantry rigidly secured with respect to the holding fixture so that during the traversing feature of the gantry there is no excessive chatter and lost motion in the gantry.

In order to provide for the unique stabilizing system each of the gantry support mechanisms 83 and 84 have a support plate 91 firmly attached to the traversing support plate 82 and at 90 thereto extending in such a manner that it overlies the upper and lower way slots 92 and 93 respectively. The support plates 91 have mounted thereto horizontal support guide rollers 95 positioned within the way slots 92 and 93 so that these rollers bear against the forwardmost walls 920 and 93a respectively of the way slot.

Referring now to FIG. 4, it will be noted that to maintain pressure of the horizontal support guide rollers 95 against the forward walls of the way slots there is provided a pair of stabilizing arms 96 and 97 which also generally overlie the way slots and flank the support plates 91. These stabilizing arms are properly mounted to the support plates by means of a set screw 98 and a lock screw 99. However, the stabilizing arms are spaced from the support plate by means of a pivot member 101 spacing the arms from the support plate and which enables the stabilizing arms to pivot in a horizontal manner relative to each of the support plates 91. Each stabilizing arm has a depending horizontally mounted roller 102 which rests within the way slots 92 and 93 and which are adjusted by movement of the stabilizing arms so that they bear against the rearmost sidewalls 92b and 9317 respectively of the way slots. The stabilizing adjustment is taken care'of-by loosening the lock screws 99 and either tightening or loosening the set screws 98 to such a degree that the stabilizing arms force rollers 95 of the support plates against the forward wall of the way slot while at the same time rollers 102 of each stabilizing arm are forced against the rear wall of each way slot. When the correct amount of adjustment is attained so that the rollers are freely movable yet are firmly placed against the sidewalls of the way slots, the set screws 98 and lock screws 99 are tightened to maintain this relative position and provide proper tension between respective support plates and way slots. In this way the gantry 13 is maintained a fixed distance from the forwardmost face of the holding fixture 12. To maintain the gantry 13 in a proper vertical position with respect to the holding fixture 12 the upper support plate 91 has a pair of upper vertical support guide rollers 103 which engage the upper roller way surface 104 which is a portion of the upper tooling plate 21. The lower gantry support plate 91 has in turn lower vertical support guide rollers 103 which are placed upon the lower roller way 105. The lower roller way surface 105 is a way member attached to the lower surface of the lower tooling plate 27.

The entire gantry 13 is traversed around the periphery of the holding fixture 12 by means of a hydraulic motor drive 106, as seen in P16. 2, acting through a gear box 107 which in turn rotates a gantry drive shaft 108. The drive shaft 108 is mounted for rotation within bearing holders 109 spaced at selected intervals along the length of the drive shaft and attached to the traversing support plate 82. The drive shaft has a pair of drive pinions 111 and 112 which mesh with an upper rack gear 113 and a lower rack gear 114 respectively. These rack gears are mounted on the forward peripheral surface of the holding fixture 12 and in particular upon the forward edge of plates 21 and 27.

The traversing support plate 82 is the movable fixture which carries the tracer valve 115 and the two router motors 116 and 117 with their associated cutter bits 118. It has been noted that the gantry 13 moves about the holding fixture 12 by means of the drive shaft engaging the drive pinions with the rack gears. However, to move the traversing support plate 82 in a vertical direction in order to give a Y direction control to the router cutter bits there is provided a pair of vertical gantry ways 119 which interconnect the support plates 91 and allow the vertical movement of the traversing support plate 82 by means of way sliders 120 which are affixed at the four corners of the traversing support plate. I

The actual vertical movement of the traversing support plate 82 is accomplished by a double-acting hydraulic cylinder 121 which is supplied hydraulic power through lines 122. The upper end of the vertical movement cylinder 121 is afiixed to portions of the upper gantry support mechanism 83, while the lower end of the cylinder 121 has its piston rod 123 attached by suitable bracket means 124 to the upper yoke 125 of the support plate 82. Upon suitable pressurization of the hydraulic lines 122, as controlled by the action of tracer valve 115, the double acting cylinder 121 causes the traversing support plate 82 to move either upwardly or downwardly in a vertical direction.

Because of the massive weight and size of the gantry 13 and in particular of the traversing support plate 82, it was found desirable to counterbalance the weight of the support plate 82 by means of a counterbalance cylinder 126 one end of which is connected to the gantry support mechanism 83 while the piston rod 127 of the lower end is suitably connected through bracket means 128 to the yoke 125 of the support plate. As may be readily seen, the use of a counterbalance cylinder such as the one noted will effectively reduce the size of cylinder 121 needed for vertical movement of the support plate 82. By use of the counterbalance cylinder 126 there is established for the support plate 82 a relative zero weight thereby allowing a more precise control of vertical movements by the hydraulic cylinder 121.

The horizontal and vertical movements of the gantry are controlled effectively by the tracer valve 115 and its associated stylus 129. The tracer valve 115 shown in the present drawings is a three-dimensional 360 hydraulic tracing valve which is designed to follow the tooling template cam 33, the configuration of which is sensed by the stylus 129 and transmitted through the fluid control lines 131 and evaluated within the tracer system control panel 132. The present tracing system is shown as hydraulically operated since it was felt that a hydraulic system would be quite suitable for the intended purpose and somewhat less expensive. However, an electronic tracer system could obviously be used and this might be advantageous should a larger gantry be utilized since an electronic system has the advantage of being able to amplify a weak signal to drive large DC motors and the like to move a greater mass.

The present tracer valve 115 is mounted upon an adjustment bracket 133 in which there is incorporated a tracer depth control 134 and a tracer horizontal offset control 135. The latter two controls allow the tracer to be offset in either the X or Y direction and the relationship of the tracer with respect to the to'oling template cam 33 may be changed so that the two router motors 116 and 117 may be placed either directly below the tracer valve or offset thereto in order that .any degreeof offset between the tracer valve and the router motors may be obtained.

Referring now to FIGS. 6 and 7, the two router motors are fixed to the gantry with the exception that they are mounted upon a router motor mounting plate 136 which is itself relatively movable with respect to the traversing support plate 82. That is, the router motor mounting plate 136 is adapted to move horizontally toward and from the traversing support plate 82 and is supported therewith upon a plurality of cylindrical slides 137. The router motor mounting plate 136 is movable so that, if it is desired to traverse the gantry 13 along the periphery of the holding fixture 12 without cutting, then the mounting plate 136 may be reciprocated to its position farthest removed from the traversing support plate 82 thereby bringing the router cutters 118 out of engagement with the workpieces to allow rapid traversing. The reciprocative movement of the router motor mounting plate 136 is accomplished by a pair of double-acting cylinders 138 whose piston rods 139 are fixedly secured to the traversing support plate 82 by means of fastening nut 141.

While it has been stated that the router motors 116 and 117 are not normally movable, it should be brought forth clearly, however, that each router motor in turn may be individually set for depth of cut of the workpiece by means of respective depth controls 142 and 143. These depth controls allow a precise engagement as to depth of each cutter bit 118 with respect to the workpieces 34. The router motors of the instant application are of the pneumatic type supplied through pressure lines 144. However, this type of motor could easily be replaced by an electrical router motor if the need should arise. The mode of operation of the router motor is relatively immaterial since the router motors will perform their intended functions.

in normal operation of the present routing machine, the machine operator would control the lifting hoses and clamping hoses through the various solenoid controlled valves 67 and 76 so that the clamping hoses 57,58 and 59, 60 and 61, 62 would be completely deflated and the lifting hoses 51, 52 and 53,54 and S5, 56 would be completely inflated to thereby open the three pairs ofjaws 38, 39 and 40, 41 and 42, 43. As was noted earlier, if it is desired that the jaws not open full depth, then only one lifting hose of each pair need to be inflated. This is of course accomplished by only opening one of the two valves 76't0 each pair of lifting hoses. When the jaws are open the desired amount, a tooling template cam is properly inserted between jaws 38 and 39 while workpieces 34 are inserted between jaws 40, 41 and 42, 43. Of course, if desired only one workpiece needs to be utilized with the remaining jaw pair being left empty. At this time the operator will then completely deflate the lifting hoses and once this is completed by indication of limit switches 81, the clamping hoses 57, 58 and 59, 60 and 61, 62 are fully inflated to provide a firm clamping pressure against the inserted members between the jaw pairs.

@At this point, the gantry 13 will normally have been previously reciprocated to one end of the routing machine and the tracer valve 115 and router motors 116 and 117 will have been adjusted for proper depth of cut and proper and desired alignment with one another. Once the tooling template cam 33 and the workpieces 34 are properly clamped in place, the gantry 13 is then energized by the machine operator and it begins to move around the periphery of the routing machine by motion of the drive shaft 108 transmitted through the pinions 111 to the rack gears 113 and 114. As the tracer valve stylus 129 engages the tooling template cam, the router bits 118 begin to cut the workpieces 34 into the same configuration as the tracer stylus is indicating by its movement along the cam. The routing continues until the end of the cam 33 and the work pieces 34 is reached, whereupon the gantry may be traversed in the opposite direction should another portion of the workpiece need routing. To release the workpieces 34 after a complete routing process it is only necessary for the machine operator to deflate the clamping hoses and inflate the lifting hoses thereby opening the jaws.

While 1 have particularly shown and described one particular embodiment of the invention, it is distinctly understood that the invention is not limited thereto but that many modifications may be made within the scope of the invention and such variations as are covered by the scope of the appended claims.

lclaim:

A routing machine comprising'a holding fixture having a plurality of jaw means for holding at least one template and one workpiece, the jaw means including separate sets of movable clamping jaws into which the template and workpiece are removably retained, expansible means coacting with the clamping jaws to open and close the jaws, track means integral with the holding fixture, a gantry movable with respect to the holding fixture including drive means engaging the track means to traverse the gantry around at least a portion of the peripheral edge of the holding fixture at a predetermined distance therefrom, a tracer means mounted on the gantry for movement therewith and adapted to operatively engage the template, cutting means mounted on the gantry for movement therewith in direct controlled relation to the movement of the tracer means and adapted to operatively engage the workpiece, whereby when the gantry traverses the peripheral edge of the holding fixture the cutting means as controlled by the tracer means operatively routs the workpiece corresponding to the configuration of the template. i

2. The routing machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the portion of the peripheral edge of the holding fixture which the gantry traverses is of curvilinear configuration.

3. A routing machine comprising a holding fixture having a plurality of parallel horizontally and alternately disposed movable and nonmovable flat planar plates wherein predetermined ones of the alternately disposed plates are movable in a vertical direction at desired times, perpendicularly mounted jaw means attached to a first edge of each of the planar plates so that plates adjacently located form a jaw pair of registered jaw means, track means integral with the holding fixture, a gantry movable with respect to the holding fixture including drive means engaging the track means to traverse the gantry along the first edge of the planar plates at a predetermined distance therefrom, a tracer means mounted on the gantry for movement therewith and adapted to operatively engage a template engaged by one jaw pair, cutting means mounted on the gantry for movement therewith in direct controlled relation to the movement of the tracer means and adapted to operatively engage a workpiece engaged by a second jaw pair, whereby when the gantry traverses the first edge of the planar plates the cutting means as controlled by the tracer means operatively routs the workpiece corresponding to the configuration of the template.

4. The routing machine as claimed in claim 3, wherein the first edge of each of the planar plates has a curvilinear configuration.

5. The routing machine as claimed in claim 3, wherein stabilizing means interconnect the gantry to the holding fixture to maintain the gantry at the predetermined distance from the holding fixture.

6. A routing machine comprising a holding fixture having a plurality of parallel horizontally and alternately disposed movable and nonmovable flat planar plates wherein predetermined ones of the alternately disposed plates are movable in a vertical direction at desired times, means for selectively reciprocating the movable plates with respect to the nonmovable plates, perpendicularly mounted jaw means attached to a first edge of each of the planar plates so that plates adjacently located form a jaw pair of registered jaw means, a gantry movable with respect to the holding fixture including drive means to traverse the gantry along the first edge of the planar plates at a predetermined distance therefrom, control means for controlling the movement of the gantry, cutting means mounted on the gantry for movement therewith and adapted to operatively engage a workpiece clampingly engaged by one jaw pair, whereby when the gantry traverses the first edge of the planar plates the cutting means operatively routs the workpiece to correspond to a predetermined configuration.

7. The routing machine as claimed in claim 6, wherein sta bilizing means interconnect the gantry to the holding fixture to maintain the gantry at the predetermined distance from the holding fixture.

8. A routing machine comprising a holding fixture having a plurality of parallel horizontally .and alternately disposed movable and nonmovable flat planar plates in stacked relation wherein predetermined ones of the alternately disposed plates are movable in a vertical direction at desired times, means for selectively reciprocating the movable plates with respect to the nonmovable plates, perpendicularly mounted jaw means attached to a first edge of each of the planar plates so that plates adjacently located form a jaw pair of registered jaw means, track means integral with the holding fixture, way means integral with the holding fixture, the first edge of each of the planar plates having a curvilinear configuration, a gantry movable with respect to the holding fixture including drive means engaging the track means to traverse the gantry along the first edge of the planar plates at a predetermined distance therefrom, stabilizing means interconnecting the gantry to the way means of the holding fixture, a tracer means mounted on the gantry for movement therewith and adapted to operatively engage a template engaged by one jaw pair, cutting means mounted on the gantry for movement therewith in direct controlled relation to the movement of the tracer means and adapted to operatively engage a workpiece engaged by a second jaw pair whereby when the gantry traverses the first edge of the planar plates the cutting means as controlled by the tracer means operatively rout the workpiece corresponding to the configuration of the template.

9. A routing machine as claimed in claim 8, wherein the means for selectively reciprocating the movable interposed plates comprises expansible lifting means disposed between jaw pairs of movable and nonmovable flat planar plates.

10. The routing machine as claimed in claim 9, wherein expansible clamping means are disposed between jaw pairs of movable and nonmovable flat planar plates.

11. The routing machine as claimed in claim 10, including control means for expanding and contracting the lifting means and clamping means at alternative times, limit means preventing both the lifting means and clamping means from being concurrently operable.

12. The routing machine as claimed in claim 11, wherein the expansible lifting and clamping means are elongated pneumatically inflatable bags, the clamping bags being positioned substantially on a line passing through the jaw pairs to thereby enable clamping pressure to be directed to the immediate vicinity of the jaw pairs.

13. The routing machine as claimed in claim 8, wherein the stabilizing means comprises an upper and a lower support plate, the support plates being attached to the distal ends of the gantry and overlying the way means, roller means integral with the upper and lower support plates and engaging respective way means.

14. The routing machine as claimed in claim 13, wherein the stabilizing means further includes adjustable tension means between the support plates and the respective way means.

15. The routing machine as claimed in claim 14, wherein the way means includes a way slot disposed in each of the upper tooling plate and the lower tooling plate, the adjustable tension means comprising a pair of stabilizing arms each having integral roller means and being pivotally attached to and flanking each support plate, the stabilizing arms being horizontally adjustable with respect to the support plates,

whereby horizontal adjustment of the stabilizing arms provides optimum engagement of the roller means of each support plate and each stabilizing arm with respective way slots.

16. A method of routing a workpiece to the configuration of a template, the steps comprising providing a holding fixture having pairs of initially open clamping jaws, providing the clamping jaws with both opening and clamping expansible pneumatic containers, inserting the template and workpiece into respective pairs of clamping jaws, expanding the clamping pneumatic containers to close the initially open clamping jaws to fixedly secure the template and the workpiece, providing a gantry having at least one template tracer and at least one router for movement relative to the clamping jaws, moving the template tracer to trace the configuration of the template, moving the router in conformity with movements of the template tracer to thereby rout the work piece, deflating the clamping pneumatic containers and inflating the opening pneumatic containers thereby opening the clamping jaws, and removing the workpiece.

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