Patent GB-1013999-A (GB)
Title: Buffing machine
IPC: B24B47/22
Filed: 1964-09-03
Abstract: 1,013,999. Grinding. STACY-GIFFOBD CO. Sept. 3, 1964 [March 2 1964], No. 36183/64. Heading B3D.  A buffing machine comprises a frame 1, Fig- 1, rotatably mounting a shaft 8 which carries a buffing wheel 6 and is driven by mechanism 10. . . 13 in the frame, a stick of abrasive 34 mounted, in the frame for movement towards the periphery of the buffing wheel, a rotatable chuck 15 for holding a workpiece W and mounted for movement to engage the buffing wheel eccentrically of its axis to rotate the chuck and workpiece, and means operated by the rotation of the chuck to move the workpieee in another direction relative to the buffing wheel. As described, the machine has two buffing wheels 6, 7 mounted on the shaft 8 which is rotatably carried in a pair of bearings on a pair of arms 41, 42, Fig. 3, which are secured to a pivot shaft 40 mounted in the frame. The other ends of the shafts are joined together by a link and have a block 46 engaged by a threaded spindle 49 having a hand wheel 51, rotation of the spindle adjusting the buffing wheels relative to the workpieee W to compensate for the reduction in size of the wheels as they wear. The shaft 8 has a split pulley driven by a belt 11 from an electric motor 10, and the pivotal adjustment of the arms 41, 42 alters the effective diameter of the pulley to maintain the peripheral speed of the buffing wheels substantially constant as their diameters are reduced by wear. The motor 10 is mounted on a frame 58 carried by a pivot 69 and a threaded spindle 64 is provided to adjust the initial position of the motor and hence the initial effective diameter of the split pulley. The buffing wheels are adjacent an opening 5 in the frame through which the chuck is adapted to extend to engage the workpieee with the buffing wheels. The chuck 15 is mounted on the shaft 75, Fig; 7, of a carriage 16 which is movable transversely of the axis of the shaft 8 in a slide 18, Figs. 1 and 3, mounted on a pivot rod 22 to one side of the opening 5 between a loading position, shown in Fig. 1, and an operative position shown in Fig. 3. A bar 24 is disposed on the opposite side of the opening 5 and has a guide plates 25 which is engaged by a bearing pin 27 on the slide when the latter is in its operative position. A weight 28 is connected by a cord 29 to the slide to effect easy positioning of the slide in its operative position and movement of the slide vertically to trasverse the workpiece across the buffing wheels. The chuck consists of a disc 74 having a fixed jaw 76, Fig. 7, and a spring-loaded jaw 77 for holding a workpiece W. The disc is mounted on the shaft 75 which is rotatable in bearings 88, 89, Fig. 9, in the carriage 16 which consists of a pair of plates 80, 81 slidable transversely of the axis of the buffing wheels along guide rods 84, 85 in the slide 18. The shaft 75 is connected by reduction worm-and-wheel gearing 90, 93, 94 to a shaft 95 secured to a crank 96 adjustably connected to a rod 102 mounted on a pivot 103 on the slide whereby, as the chuck is rotated by engagement of the workpiece W.with the buffing wheel during the vertical movement of the slide, the carriage and chuck are moved transversely of the axis of the buffing wheels.  Adjacent each buffing wheel is a holder 32, 33, Fig. 1, for a stick 34, 35 of abrasive compound and/or range. Each holder consists of a casing 32, Fig. 11, for supporting the stick 34, and spring-loaded plungers 109 for pressing the stick against one wall of the holder. The stick is advanced incrementally into contact with its buffing wheel by a pusher 110 carried by a split nut 114 engaging a threaded spindle 113 rotated step-by-step by an oscillating solenoid 125, reverse rotation of the spindle being prevented by a pawl-and-ratchet mechanism 126 127. When the stick of abrasive is exhausted, the nut can be opened after release of a wing- nut 121 to enable the pusher to be rapidly withdrawn and swung to an out-of-the-way position-through slot 122 while a new stick is inserted. Each oscilating solenoid is connected into a circuit including a timer switch having a microswitch operated by a cam  having a plurality of lobes, and during the upward traverse of the slide 18, the pin 27 actuates a contact in the circuit associated with the solenoid of the lower stick-feeding mechanism so as to advance its stick incrementally and then actuates a contact in the circuit associated with the solenoid of the upper stick-feeding mechanism so as to advance its stick. In an alternative embodiment, the machine has a chuck 145, Figs. 15 and 16, for supporting an irregularly-shaped workpiece. W.: The chuck has an inner easing 154 which is slidably mounted on guide pins 157 in an outercasing 146 carried by a stationary shaft 147, springs 158, 159 acting to urge the inner casing outwardly towards a front plate 149 adjacent a guide shield 151 having a central aperture 152. The workpiece is mounted on a mandrel 162 having, at one end, a stub shaft 163 engaging a live centre 166 on a splined shaft 167 journalled in a sleeve 168 on the inner casing 154, and, at the other end, a stub shaft 164 engaging a deadcentre 170 carried by a pedestal 171. The engagement of the chuck with the buffing wheel effects rotation and transverse movement of the workpiece and is effected by a worm 178 keyed on the stationary shaft driving gears 182 and 184, the latter, through an intermediate gear 185, driving the splined shaft 167 to rotate the workpiece. A cam 186 is also rotated and is engaged by a follower 187 on a stationary bracket 188 to move the workpiece towards and away from the buffing wheel as it is rotated to present successive areas flush with the surface 153 of the guide shield as the chuck is rotated by engagement with the buffing wheel.