Patent ID: 7434718

Claim:
A guiding apparatus for a cutting or welding torch, which is controllable in such a way that the cutting or welding torch follows a predetermined desired contour, the apparatus comprising: a portal including a through opening, into which a workpiece can be guided in an axial direction; a rotary part, which is rotatable about the axis of the through opening in a motor-driven manner; a holding arm, which at its free end carries the cutting or welding torch and with its other end is fixed in such a way to the rotary part and configured in such a way that the cutting or welding torch can be adjusted radially in relation to the axis of the through opening of the portal and brought into different angular positions in relation to the surface of the workpiece, wherein the holding arm comprises three sections, of which a first section extends substantially radially and is mounted so as to be displaceable in this direction by motor, of which a second section is fixed to the first section so as to be rotatable by motor about an axis which runs in the azimuthal direction in relation to the through opening of the portal, and of which a third section is fixed to the second section so as to be rotatable by motor about an axis which runs parallel to the axis of the through opening; and, a device, by which a relative movement between the workpiece and the cutting or welding torch in the axial direction of the through opening can be brought about.