Method of making a planar work surface
US4963217A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 3, 1989 |
| Grant date | Oct 16, 1990 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 3, 2009 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10T428/24149
- WIPO fieldMachine tools
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A highly accurate positioning system used in connection with a photoplotter assembly employing a dual axis drive system having low mass and low inertia components. The drive elements of the system are low cost, high tensile strength drive bands that orient the driven members with high accuracy, low noise and require no lubrication. A photoplotter head and a moveable work table are similarly mounted to a base structure in a slideable manner utilizing a recirculating ball guide assembly and a flat rail roller assembly. The drive bands are moved by friction drive motors and a closed loop feedback control system orienting the photoplotter head and the work table relative to each other and utilize input only from the actual placement of the photoplotter head and the work table in calculating further movements. The work table is a lightweight element formed from a honeycomb infrastructure that provides individual vacuum chambers to hold a workpiece down on the work surface without external holding means. A method of providing a flat work surface includes utilizing a tool having a planar surface and bonding a thin sheet of material to the infrastructure when the thin sheet is placed on th…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.