Patent ID: 8430013

Claim:
A braiding machine, comprising: a support member; a series of drivers carried by said support member arranged in a circle around a braiding point; a mechanism to rotate adjacent of said drivers in opposite directions; a series of strand supply carrier spindles and a plurality of cars for mounting of an associated said spindle to be driven by said drivers for travel in serpentine intersecting paths in opposite directions around said braiding point; each of said plurality of cars comprises a unitary central post, a mounting base, and a foot; said central post extends from a bottom plane surface of said foot through said foot and said mounting base, wherein said foot and said mounting base are spaced from one another and both provide support to said post; said car is formed from heat treated steel having a hardness from about 20 C to about 30 C Rockwell; said car is machined to a specification from said heat treated steel and then treated to another heat treating operation; said another heat treating operation includes nitriding for increased surface hardness and tolerance adherence of said car; and, said surface hardness is at least 60 C Rockwell.