Patent ID: 7488144

Claim:
An apparatus for supporting a manufacturing tool relative to a workpiece, the apparatus comprising: a track assembly having a plurality of attachment devices configured to be attached to the workpiece and including at least one rail, the rail including an elongated, substantially smooth surface having a longitudinally-extending neutral axis and a rack extending along a pitch line that at least approximately coincides with the longitudinally-extending neutral axis, wherein the rack comprises a plurality of tapered apertures disposed within the substantially smooth surface, the plurality of tapered apertures being uniformly spaced along the longitudinally-extending neutral axis of the rack, the plurality of attachment devices coupled to the at least one rail such that the plurality of attachment devices are distributed along the longitudinally-extending neutral axis and disposed directly between the at least one rail and the workpiece when the track assembly is engaged to the workpiece; a carriage comprising an x-axis portion moveably coupled to the track assembly and moveable relative to the workpiece along the rail, the carriage including a drive gear having a plurality of drive teeth, the plurality of tapered apertures being configured and spaced to fittingly receive one or more of the plurality of drive teeth as the drive gear rollably engages the rack, the carriage further comprising a y-axis portion slideably coupled to the x-axis portion and moveable with respect to the x-axis portion along a y-axis oriented transversely to the longitudinally-extending neutral axis, the y-axis being approximately co-planar with the substantially smooth surface of the rail of the track assembly, and the carriage further comprising a tool support configured to receive and support a manufacturing tool; and an opposing-force support assembly moveable along the y-axis independent from the tool support, the opposing-force support assembly coupled to the carriage and securable to the workpiece.