US2406690A - Lapping machine - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 27, 1946. H. SplNDGE ETAL 2,406,690.

ILAPPING MACHINE Filed Oct. 9, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 HERBERT S. IND E @songs E. HuLBER-r g 27, 1946- H. s. INDGE .ET AL I 2,

I LAPPING' MACHINE Filed Oct. 9, 19 14 2 Sheets Sheet 2 Flc Z HERBERT S. /NDE Cizonqs E. HULBERT.

Patented Aug. 27, 1946 UN TED Her ert S,- Indee a d ge E- Iiulliert West: V j $1 4 Worcester; Mass'., a corporation of lu assa n5 bpro, M

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This inv nt re a es. w abre n mawie e d m P t a t9 m nnin mach ne ie l pp n a la e a e Qf re a ive S ll WQIK piece-s. v i ne Object of he ventien is t Pr de. a m l nd thoroughly pra t lappin mac ine for lapping a plane face on a worl; piece; Another bj t of't e nvezit bn is to' PFQY Q? a la time mahin or l p i g a l neife e 9n w t piece, in ch a'v h'wo p ece i nde e den l ed l aintai ed. n Qn raiiv ngaee n wi h e ers. e ra i e ap i ement- Another object oi'the invention is tdplQYlple a lapping machine with a work driving head having a plurality of rotatable "worlg driving spindles hich a a ang o ha t y m b 3 4" pendently moved to engage and drive a-work piece for a lapping'operatidn.

A iurther object f the invention is to provide a lapping machine with a work" driving mechanism includin'g a plurality ofp'osi'tivelv matedwork driving 'spindles'each of which may be independently" moved to' and from an" operative position to faoilitate loadingand unloading work pieces. A furtherobject of the invention is to provide a lapping machinewith a, work driving head "having a plurality of positively driven work rotating and driving spindleain which the head is arranged so that it maybe indexed to facilitateloadingand unloading-'work pieces. Other ob jects will be in part obvious or in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations 'ofelements, and arrangements of parts, aswill be, exemplified in the structure to be hereinafter described, and the scope'of the application of which will be indicated in the. following claims. s

One embodiment .of' this invention has been illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals indicate like parts.

Fig. 1 is a side elevation ,of the improved lap;

andclriving mechanism and the lapping wheel;

and

Fig. 3.1 va, fragmentary detail View. of lthe latchi mechanism for holding .the work driving head against rotation during the normal lapping. op

eration.

(Glen-119i sun or; ior a o atahle' ap supporting pla en H a? rk'head' l2- *supnortine p ate 4/ .i i filly 'pb ted ax ei ahle' me r whic ev iw t e u pe en o f sleeve 14- vie mehga sm p o idai er he a he an e e ri m o the base I? i the e pivotally mounted m7 art? he meter 0 is r v ded, wit

1' Flier w .h s. q j inel ied'bv e n P wit a mil er T pulley i i r iet h e'shal i .25.- h sha 25 -1s 'prdvidied with a worm ZSwhi h in turn mes-hearth a'wrm gear 21. The we s eyed to the w r an. f he. s ee 1 be'readily apparentfr s r. the i r 3 DIatenT-IL; A lapping plate 015 provided which rests upon the upper suIr'i-ace'of laten l I: In ordefto pifod-iio'a predeterminedapping'action, the laping. plate is prefer 1 not only rotated'but also is fgive'n 'a combined rater-yamgyrating movement to impart the de red lapping" action to the workpieces b rapped. A plurality of syn-in ietriealliarra"ged driving pins}! and 32 (pg eiablytnre em firnb'er, only two ofwhich havebeenillustratedFigs. l. and 2) are pro- Videdtb 'eng ag-e apertur gmth lapping plate 33. Thedrivingpin'so'r studs "31 and '32 are e centrically mounted on rotatable heads andrespeotivelwf a inannerf substantially "the "same as thatshow rfin the exp Ind-ge No. 1,610,52 dated December 14', 1926, to

je idt e p' il b n which reference may behad' for details of disclosure'not containea herein. The'hea'djs 3 and .i'farerotatably supported on'studs '35 (only one of which-has been illustrated I) The rotary heads 33 and 34' are provided" with gears stand 31' whichmesnwitp a' ge'arts. The gear 38 is keved "to. the upper end of a non-1otatal:)le shaft 35. The -Shaft 3B is Contained Within a. hollow. aperture ifi the sleeife i'a'rid is supported atits low-er end by' means of a bracket 3 9 which is fixedrelative to the-housing H. Y {Ihe geais 3t and 321 also mesh withananhular internal ring abovedescribed to'rotate Y i-red 'o; s. patent to H. s.

gear ill which is fixedly supported relative to the spider l3. As the spider I3 is rotated by the driving mechanism above described, the ring gear 45) will impart a rotary motion to the gears 36 and 81 to revolve the eccentric driving studs 8| and 32. During this driving movement, the gears 35 and 3'! roll on the stationary center gear 38. The lapping plate 38 will be given a rotarymotion due to rotation of the lap supporting platen'll and the heads 33 and 34, and at the same time will be given a gyrating motion by meansof the revolving driving studs 3! and 32.

The work pieces to be lapped are preferably independently rotated while in engagement with the rotary and gyrating lapping plate 30. The

machine base It) is provided with an upwardly extending column 45 which serves as a support for an arm 46. The arm 46 is provided with a vertically extending cylindrical aperturefl which serves as a bearing support for a vertically movable sleeve ZS. The sleeve 48 supports a normally-stationary rotatably-mounted work driving head 49 at its lower end. The head 49 is rotatably supported by a pair of roller bearings 58 and ti on the lower end of the sleeve 48. The head 49 serves as a support for a, plurality of symmetrically arranged work driving and rotating spindles 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 51, 58, 59 and 60. Each of the spindles 52' to 88 inclusive is preferably provided with a driving member of'a flexible or yieldable material, such as a flexible soft rubber cup 6| which may be held in frictional engagement with a work piece to be lapped by means of a compression spring 62. The work drivin spindle 52 is supported in spaced antifriction bearings 63 and '64 which are in turn fixedly mounted in the head 49. The spindle 68 is similarly supportedin anti-friction bearings 65 and 68. The remaining spindles are similarly supported, consequently the details of construction of each spindle have not been illustrated in the drawings.

A suitable driving mechanism is provided simultaneously to rotate all the work driving spindles 52-68 inclusive. This mechanism may comprise an electric motor 78 which is mounted on the rear'end of the arm 46. The motor 18 is provided with an armature shaft H having a multiple V-groove stepped driving pulley 12 mounted thereon. A driving V-belt 13 connects the pulley 72 with a multi-V-groove stepped pulley 14 which is keyed to the upper end of a vertically extending shaft 15. The pulley 14 is preferabl supportedby anti-friction bearings 16 and l! which are fixedly supported within a bracket 18. The bracket 78 is fixedly mounted relative to the arm 46 so as to form a rigid support for the driven pulley M to prevent the thrust of the driving shaft from being wholly taken up by the shaft 15.

The shaft passes through a central aperture 19 formed within the sleeve 48 and is rotatably journalled in bearings 80 and BI which are carried by the sleeve 48. The lower end of the shaft 75 is journalled in a thrust bearing, 82 which is supported by the head 49. A gear 83 is keyed to the lower end of the shaft 15 and meshes with a gear 84 which is supported on a rotatable shaft port for the work rotating and driving spindle,

52. A drive is provided between the sleeve 88 and the spindle 52 comprising a driving pin 89 which is fixed to the spindle 52. The driving pin.

4 89 extends through an elongated slot 89a formed in the upper end of the sleeve 88.

A' similar driving connection is provided between each of the spindles 52 to 651 inclusive (see, for example, spindle 68).

The sleeve 88 is provided with a driving gear 98 which meshes with a large diameter gear 9!. The gear 9'! is rotatably supported by anti-friction bearings 82 on the sleeve 48. Each of the work rotating and driving spindles 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59 and 68 is provided with a driven gear 93 which meshes with the large gear 9!. These gears 93 are formed integral with the driving sleeves 94 (only one of which has been illustrated in detail in connection with work driving spindle 88). It will bereadily apparent from the foregoing disclosure that rotary motion of the shaft 75 will be transmitted through the gear 83, the gear 84, the gear 86, the gear 81, the driving sleeve 38, and the gear 98, to rotate the large gear 9|. The large gear fil meshes with the gear 93 on each of the remaining work driving and rotating spindies 53 to 68 inclusive and will transmit an independent rotary motion to each of the driving spindles to frictionally rotate a work piece in operative engagement with the rotary and gyrating lapping plate 38 so as to impart the desired lapping action to a plane face on the work piece.

Each of the friction driving members 6| mounted on the lower ends of the work driving and rotating spindles 52 to 68 inclusive is arranged so that it may be moved upwardly to facilitate removal of a finish lapped work piece and the insertion of a new piece of work to be lapped.

' Each of the spindles 52-60 inclusive is provided with knurled knobs 95, 96, 91, 98, 98, I88, I01, I62 and I63, respectively. The knob for the spindle St is not shownasit is directly behind the sleeve H8 in Fig. 2.

When it is desired to remove a finish lapped one of the knobs 95-[03 inclusive so as to raise -the frictional driving member 8i from driving engagement with the work piece being lapped, after which the work piecemay be removed and a. new work piece inserted in place underneath the driving memberfil. The spindles 52 to 68 inclusive are raiseda sufficient distance so that the driving pins 89 are raised out of the slots 89a, thus disconnecting the spindles so that rotation thereof is stopped during a loading operation. The compression of the spring 82. is sufiicient to maintain the driving member Si in frictional driving relation with the work piece to be lapped and also to produce the desired lappin pressure between the work piece and the rotary gyrating lapping wheel 30.

In order to facilitate loading and unloading of work pieces, the head 49 is rotatably supported, in the manner above described, on the sleeve 48. The head 49 is provided with a plurality of radially projecting lugs H35, 106 and It? (only three of which have been illustrated in Fig. l). A spring actuated latch I08 is arranged in the path of the lugs I85, I08 and Ill! (Figs. 1 and 3). or pawl N38 is pivotally supported on a stud I89 which is in turn supported by a pivotally mounted arm Hi]. The arm H0 is pivotally supported on a stud i H which is arranged so that the arm I I0 together with the pawl I63 may be swung upwardly out of the path of the lugs I35, I06 or Nil.v

The arm I I0 is provided witha stop surface H2 which is arranged when in an operative position to engage a stop surface H3 which is fixedly mounted on the column 45, so as to support the The latch pawl H98 in an operative position. A tension spring H4 is provided normally to maintain the pawl H18 in an operative position. When it is desired to allow the work head 49 to rotate to facilitate loading or unloading of work pieces, the pawl its is raised out of engagement with the lu I65, after which the rotary, thrust of the driving mechanism above described will cause thehead 49 to rotate. 'Ihe pawl Hi8 is immediately dropped into position after this rotary motion has started so that it will engage the next log on the housing 49. Or, if desired, the pawl may be held out of th path of the lugs H55, IE6 or it? so that the head may be rotated through so", 186 or more, as desired.

In order to facilitate raising thehead 49 to an inoperative position, the sleeve 48 is provided with rack teeth H5 which mesh with a rotatable pinion I it which may be actuated by a hand wheel (not shown) to raise the entire work drive head 49 to an inoperative position. A manually-operable pivotally-mounted holding pawl H! is provided having gear teeth formed therein which mesh with the teeth on the rack bar 15 so that the sleeve it may be held in the desired adjusted position.

In order precisely to locate the head 49 in operative position, a positive stop mechanism may lie-provided comprising a bracket E23 which is fixed relative to the arm 46 having an upper plane surface which serves as a positive stop. A'bracket I2! is fixedly mounted relative to the head it. A stop rod !22 is fixedly connected to the bracket i2l and is provided at its upper end with a stop collar I23 which is screw threaded onto the threaded end portion I24 of the rod [22. A look collar i25 is provided to lock the collar 123 in adjusted position.

The operation of this improved lapping machine will be readily apparent from the foregoing disclosure. The lapping machine is set in motion by starting the electric motors 25 and Ill. The starting of the electric motor 28 serves in the manner above described to impart a combined rotary and gyrating movement to the lapping plate so. The starting of the electric motor Iii serves to transmit a rotary motion to all the work rotating and driving spindles. In order to load work pieces in the machine, the knobs 95-403 inclusive are independently raised and a work piece inserted in position under the driving member Bl, after which the knob is released and the released compression of the spring 62 will serve to maintain the driving element iii in frictional driving engagement with the work piece to be lapped to rotate the work piece in operative contact with the rotary and gyrating lapping plate 39. The lapping operation on the work pieces is continued to the desired and predetermined extent. When it is desired to remove a work piece from the machine, it is merely necessary for the operator to raise one of the knobs 95403 inclusive to withdraw the frictional driving element 6| from driving engagement with the work piece, after which the lapped work piece may be readily removed from the machine and a new work piece inserted there instead.

After the spindles adjacent to the operators station have been loaded with work pieces, the latch or pawl I08 may be raised out of engagement with the lug [05 so as to allow the head 49 to rotate to bring other work spindles into position adjacent to the operators station. As above described, the head 48 may be rotated through either 90, 180 or 270", depending on the operator'holding the pawl H18 out of engagement there.- with until the head 49 has reached the desired position.

' It will thus be seen that there hasbeen provided by'this invention apparatus in which the various objects hereinaboveset forth together with many thoroughly practical advantages are successfully achieved. As many possible embodie ments may be made of the above invention and as many changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter hereinbefore set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

We claim:

1. In a lapping machine having a base, a lapping wheel having a plane operative lapping face, means to impart a combined rotating and gyrating movement to said wheel, a vertically adjustable hollow spindle, a work head including a plurality of positively rotated work driving spindles which is rotatably supported at the lower end of said hollow spindle, a spindle driving mechanism including a drive shaft rotatably supported within said hollow spindle, gearing within said head connecting said drive shaft with each of said spindles simultaneously to rotate said spindles, a yieldable frictional work driving member on each of said spindles, and independent yieldable means normally'to maintain said spindles in frictional driving engagement with a work piece to rotate the same While in lapping engagement with said lapping wheel at a predetermined pressure.

2. In a lapping machine having a base, a lapping wheel having a plane operative lapping face, means to impart a combined rotating and gyrating movement to said wheel, a vertically adjustable hollow spindle, a work head including a plurality of positively rotated work driving spindles which is rotatably supported at the lower end of said hollow spindle, a spindle driving mechanism including a drive shaft rotatably supported within said hollow spindle, gearing within said head connecting said drive shaft with each of said spindles simultaneously to rotate said spindles, the thrust of said drive gearing normally tending to rotate said work head, a plurality of stop lugs on said head, and a stop pawl normally to hold said head against rotation, said stop pawl being pivotally mounted to facilitate indexing the work head for loading and unloading work pieces.

3. In a lapping machine having a base, a lapping wheel having a plane operative lapping face, means to impart a combined rotating and gyrating movement to said lapping wheel, a vertically adjustable hollow spindle, a work head rotatably mounted on the lower end of said spindle, a plurality of hollow driving sleeves rotatably supported on said head and having their axes parallel to said hollow spindle, a drive shaft rotatably supported in said spindle, gearing within said work head connecting said drive shaft with each of said driving sleeves positively to rotate said sleeves, a work driving spindle slidably'mounted in each of said sleeves, a yieldable frictional work driving member on each of said spindles, a compression spring normally to maintain said member in frictional driving engagement with the work piece to maintain it in operative lapping engagement with said lapping wheel at a predetermined pressure, a driving pin on each of said spindles normally engaging a slot in each of said sleeves to drive said spindles, and a manually operable means including a knob rotatably mounted on the upper end of each of said spindles to facilitate 7 moving said spindles independently to an inoperative position to facilitate loading and unloading work pieces.

4. In a lapping machine havinga base, a lapping wheel having a plane operative lapping face, means to impart a combined rotating and gyrating movement to said wheel, a vertically adjustable hollow spindle, a work head including a plurality of positively rotated hollow work, driving sleeves which is rotatably supported at the lower end of said hollow spindle, a sleeve driving mechanism including a drive shaft rotatably supported within said hollow spindle, gearing within said head connecting said drive shaft with each of said sleeves continuously to rotate all of said sleeves, an axially movable work driving spindle within each of said hollow sleeves, a work driving member on each of said work drive spindles, a driving pin connecting each of said spindles with said sleeves, and independent manually operable means to raise each of said work drive spindles to disconnect it from its driving sleeve when it is desired to remove a finish lapped work piece.

5. In a lapping machine having a base, a lapping Wheel having a plane operative lapping face, means to impart a combined rotating and gyrating movement to said wheel, a vertically adjustable hollow spindle, a work head including a plurality of positively rotated hollow work driving sleeves which is rotatably supported at the lower end of said hollow spindle, a sleeve driving mechanism including a drive shaft rotatably supported within said hollow spindle, gearing within said head connecting said driv shaft with each of said sleeves continuously to rotate all of said sleeves, an axially movable work drive spindle within each of said sleeves, a work driving member on each of said work drive spindles, a driving pin on each of said work drive spindles which is engageable with a slot in each of said hollow sleeves, and independent manually operable means to disengage said drive pin to stop said work drive spindle to facilitate removal of the finish lapped work piece.

6. In a lapping machine having a base, a lapping wheel having a plane operative lapping face, means to impart a combined rotating and gyrating movement to said lapping wheel, a vertically adjustable hollow spindle, a work head including a plurality of positively rotated work driving spindles which is rotatably supported at the lower end of said hollow spindle, a spindle driving mechanism within said head including a drive shaft rotatably supported within said hollow spindle, gearing within said head operatively conmeeting said shaft with all of said spindles positively and simultaneously to rotate all of said spindles, a yieldable friction work driving member on each of said spindles, independent yieldable means normally to maintain each of said driving members in frictional driving engagement with the work piece to rotate the same while in lapping engagement with the lapping wheel at a predetermined pressure, and independent manually operable means to withdraw said spindles to an inoperative position to facilitat loading and unloading Work pieces.

HERBERT S. INDGE. GEORGE E. HULBERT.

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