Patent ID: 7816621

Claim:
A method of mounting different processing heads on a processing machine to provide collision protection for the processing heads, the method comprising: providing a head mounting system that mechanically couples a processing head to the machine, the head mounting system defining a head-machine interface across which power is transmitted to the head for material processing, and comprising collision protection means that comprise multiple coupling pins oriented in different directions and together releasably retaining the processing head and that release the processing head from the machine in case of a collision of the processing head; mounting a first processing head on the machine; with the first processing head mounted on the machine, adjusting a coupling strength of the collision protection means in the head mounting system to a first level in accordance with a material processing operation associated with the first processing head, thereby adjusting a force threshold necessary to decouple the first processing head from the machine in the event of a collision of the processing head during material processing; replacing the first processing head with a second processing head; and then adjusting the coupling strength to a second level in accordance with a material processing operation associated with the second processing head.