Patent ID: 7216408

Claim:
A flexible rail machine tool for performing operations on a workpiece, comprising: a flexible primary rail coupled to the workpiece, wherein said primary rail further comprises: a first multiplicity of spacing pins attached to said primary rail, wherein said spacing pins make contact with the workpiece and thereby establish a set distance between said primary rail and the workpiece at a first multiplicity of points; a first multiplicity of vacuum cups attached to said first multiplicity of spacing pins, whereby, under application of vacuum, said spacing pins are releasably drawn into contact with the workpiece and said primary rail is substantially immobilized with respect to the workpiece; a vacuum source; and an interconnection path between said vacuum source and said first multiplicity of vacuum cups; a flexible second rail coupled to the workpiece, the second rail being approximately parallel to the primary rail, wherein said flexible second rail further comprises: a second multiplicity of spacing pins attached to said second rail, wherein said spacing pins make contact with the workpiece and thereby establish a set distance between said second rail and the workpiece at a second multiplicity of points; a second multiplicity of vacuum cups attached to said second multiplicity of spacing pins, whereby, under application of vacuum, said spacing pins are releasably drawn into contact with the workpiece and said second rail is substantially immobilized with respect to the workpiece; an interconnection path between said vacuum source and said second multiplicity of vacuum cups; a toolhead moveably coupled to said primary rail and to said second rail, the toolhead being moveable in a longitudinal direction along the primary and second rails, wherein the toolhead is supported as a cantilever extending laterally beyond the primary rail opposite the second rail; and an end effector on said toolhead, wherein said end effector is a mechanism that performs a machine tool function.