Patent ID: 6174271
Filing Date: 2001-01-16
Classification: B23B,B23Q,H05K,Y10S,Y10T

Abstract:
A hole forming system for forming holes in a work piece under automated control, comprising:a base table;a work piece table for supporting work pieces under process;a Y axis drive system for moving the work piece table along a Y axis in relation to the base table;a spindle including a rotary drive for rotating a tool at very high speed during hole forming operations;an X axis drive system for driving said spindle along an X axis which is orthogonal to said Y axis;Z axis drive system for driving said spindle along a Z axis which is orthogonal to said X and Y axis;a tool changer for holding one or more drilling tools and a router tool for selective use in the spindle during hole forming operations;a controller for controlling the X axis, Y axis and Z axis drive systems, said spindle rotary drive and said tool changer for selecting an appropriate tool for hole forming operations and executing said hole forming operations, wherein said system is controlled to use a drilling tool to form holes having an outer diameter under a predetermined threshold diameter by rotating the drilling tool at very high speed and feeding the drilling tool into and out of the work piece along a single Z axis, and to use a router tool to form holes having an outer diameter exceeding the threshold diameter by a routing movement.