Patent ID: 8056411

Claim:
An apparatus for balancing a shaft assembly having a shaft body, a first universal joint coupled to a first end of the shaft body, and a second universal joint coupled to a second end of the shaft body, the apparatus comprising: a first balancing head including a first set of actuatable pins configured to adjustably grasp the first universal joint at the first end of the shaft assembly and adjustably position the shaft body with respect to the first universal joint; a second balancing head including a second set of actuatable pins configured to adjustably grasp the second universal joint at the second end of the shaft assembly and adjustably position the shaft body with respect to the second universal joint; a shaft-spinning subsystem configured to cause rotation of the shaft assembly; a sensor subsystem configured to determine a level of imbalance of the shaft assembly during the rotation of the shaft-spinning subsystem; a controller coupled to the sensor subsystem and the first and second sets of actuatable pins, the controller configured to iteratively adjust the first and second sets of actuatable pins in response to the level of imbalance to determine an optimal level of imbalance during the rotation of the shaft-spinning subsystem; and a plurality of retention components configured to securely position the first and second universal joints with respect to the shaft body.