Patent ID: 7431776

Claim:
A cutting table for supporting a metal workpiece to be subjected to a cutting operation that creates slag, the cutting table comprising: a table for supporting a workpiece to be cut, the table defining openings through which slag from a cutting operation falls into a space below the table; a frame supporting the table in an elevated position above a support surface on which the cutting table is supported and on which the slag falls; and a slag-removal system disposed below the table for periodically removing slag from the support surface, the slag-removal system comprising: a first drive member arranged in an endless loop that extends along a longitudinal direction beneath the table; a second drive member arranged in an endless loop that extends in the longitudinal direction beneath the table, the second drive member being spaced in a transverse direction from the first drive member, each loop having a lower run and an upper run spaced above the lower run; a slag plow extending in the transverse direction and having a first end connected to the first drive member and a second end connected to the second drive member; the first and second drive members being driven in a first rotational direction to rotate along the respective endless loops, such that the slag plow is carried along the lower runs of the drive members from a starting location to an ending location and scrapes slag from the support surface and pushes the slag to the ending location, and as the drive members continue to rotate in the first rotational direction the slag plow is carried along the upper runs of the drive members, spaced above the support surface, back to the starting location to be ready for another pass along the support surface.