Patent ID: 11951524
Assignee: BTM COMPANY LLC
Field: Machine tools (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B | IPC B

Claim 8:
9. A workpiece-contacting apparatus comprising:
(a) a workpiece-joining die including an anvil and upstanding die blades adjacent lateral sides of the anvil, the anvil having a workpiece-contacting surface;
(b) an elongated workpiece-joining punch coaxially aligned with the die;
(c) a fluid-powered actuator operably moving the punch from a retracted position to a workpiece-joining position; and
(d) a movable adjuster; and
(e) a secondary actuator moving the adjuster to vary a fully advanced distance between the workpiece-joining position of the punch and the workpiece-contacting surface of the die between joining cycles of the apparatus;
(f) a sensor;
(g) a programmable controller electrically connected to the sensor;
(h) the controller being electrically connected to the secondary actuator to automatically control a position of the adjuster based at least in part on a sensed workpiece thickness characteristic and a desired longitudinal shut height of the punch;
(i) wherein the adjuster comprises:
a linear slide;
a first spacer extending from the slide with a first height;
at least a second spacer extending from the slide with a second height, the first height being greater than the second height; and
the spacers being laterally offset from each other.