Patent ID: 7172376

Claim:
A workpiece positioner, comprising: a chassis; a workpiece holder mounted to said chassis for rotation about a central axis, said workpiece holder having a drive end and an idler end; a first set of workpiece supports mounted on said workpiece holder and adapted to retain and support a first workpiece; a second set of workpiece supports mounted on said workpiece holder and adapted to retain and support a second workpiece; a holder drive means for rotating said workpiece holder about the central axis; a workpiece drive means for selectively and independently rotating said first workpiece about a first workpiece axis and said second workpiece about a second workpiece axis; and a support member attached to and extending between the drive end and the idler end of the workpiece holder, said support member serving as a rotational coupling between the drive end and the idler end of the workpiece holder, said support member serving as a barrier between the first and second workpieces, and said support member having a cross-sectional shape that is characterized as an I-beam, with upper and lower flange portions connected solely by a single web portion, such that the web portion is the only barrier between the first and second workpieces.