Apparatus for machining intricate feature cuts in thin walled tubular parts

Abstract

Abstract Tubular (22) parts are delivered to a rotary positioner (46), or preferably in successive pairs to separate rotary positioners, where they are held for laser machining: in the preferred arrangement, the pairs of parts are machined in parallel by twin laser cutting beams directed thereat by a commonly mounted pair of focussing heads (42). The rotary positioners (46) are commonly rotated through a programmed series of angular motions in conjunction with a programmed series of joint X and Y axes linear motions of the focusing heads to scan the cutting beam over the surfaces of the parts and thus machine identical feature cuts in the sidewall of each part. Machining is performed under an inert gas atmosphere, and cuttings are vacuumed from the machining sites through apertured mandrels (86) inserted into the part bores.

Inventors

• 👤 Donald Gene Muncy
• 👤 William Breene Plotts

Bibliographic Details