Importance

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Abstract

A thread cutting work station includes a carriage assembly mounted on guideways for guided movement under the control of a linear actuator between an initial, home position and a forward position for cutting threads in or upon a workpiece. A collet is connected to a drive motor and carries a tap for thread cutting. In operation, the linear actuator accelerates the carriage assembly from the initial, home position along the guideways towards the workpiece with the rotating tap entering the to-be-threaded bore to initiate the thread cutting operation with the subsequent feed rate controlled by the rotating tap. After completion of the thread cutting step, the drive motor is reversed to withdraw the tap from the threaded bore, and the linear actuator is controlled to rapidly move the carriage assembly to its initial position. The use of a separate linear actuator to advance and retract the carriage assembly allows for the rapid advance and retraction of the tap to and from the to-be-threaded bore to increase overall efficiency.

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First Claim