Patent ID: 7625158

Claim:
A clamping assembly for clamping a product to allow drilling and/or cutting of the product by a drilling or cutting assembly having a drill tool or cutter, the clamping assembly including control means, activation means, moving means and clamp foot means being operatively connected whereby the control means controls the activation means to control the torque and distance moved on the activation means and moving means such that any movement of the drilling or clamping assembly relative to each other can be controlled such that the depth of and timing of drilling or cutting and/or clamping by the drilling or cutting or clamping assembly can be adjusted accordingly such that if the product being clamped by the clamp foot means is moved during any additional forces that occur during drilling or cutting, then the control means can compensate and ensure the drilling or cutting depth is maintained whereby as the control means allows for precise movement between the drilling or cutting and clamping assemblies, movements such as vertically moving the clamp foot means down towards the product to be drilled or cut can occur simultaneously with the movement of the drill assembly such that the clamping assembly leads the drilling tool or cutter by a known amount and conversely the retraction of the clamp foot means can occur simultaneously with the retraction of the drill or cutter once the drill or cutter has retracted clear of the product being drilled or cut.