A device for laying down a plastic bead on an essentially plane surface of a part consists of a table supporting a movable frame having a drive track. The drive track cooperates with a pinion rotatable about an axis fixed to table so as to drive the frame. The part is mounted on the frame. A slotted rod is fixed to the frame and cooperates with a roller mounted on the table for preventing the frame from rotating about itself. A gun for depositing the bead is positioned above the axis of the drive pinion. As the drive pinion rotates the frame, the gun will deposit a bead on the part mounted on the frame along a line corresponding to the contour of the drive track.

A method and an apparatus for performing mechanical operations on a workpiece secured on a first member for movement relative to a second member in at least one of three orthogonal directions at a precision in the .mu.m range. Selectively energizable magnets are provided between the first and second members cause the first member to assume a floating state relative to the second member and to provide such movement. The second member is provided with a chamber for receiving the first member and is with openings for the controlled flow of pressurized fluid to augment the action of the magnets.

An apparatus for automatically fixing a printed circuit board to a predetermined position on a worktable of an automatic electronic components insertion machine having a non-shiftably arranged reference positioning pin and a shiftable positioning pin which is automatically shifted by an automatic shifting unit, including a numerically controlled rotary drive unit and a feed screw mechanism. The shiftable positioning pin is arranged so as to be always shifted from a predetermined origin position toward or away from the reference positioning pin in response to a change in the size of printed circuit boards to be fed onto the worktable.

A pair of spaced holes (32 and 34) are drilled in a substrate blank (10) diametrically along a line (14) defining a future locating edge (22) of a printed circuit board (12). When the substrate blank (10) is then sheared to form the printed circuit board (12), semi-circular recesses (38 and 40) are formed from the spaced holes (32 and 34) in the resultant board locating edge (22). The printed circuit board (12) then is accurately aligned in a processing station in X- and Y-directions by seating board-locating pins (50 and 52) of special configurations in respective ones of the semi-circular recesses (38 and 40).

A support apparatus for a through-hole soldered circuit board for use with circuit board lead trimmer of the type having a planarly-movable cutting head and a base plate below the cutting head parallel to the head's plane of movement, the setup of which can be changed rapidly and with little probability of error by a low-skilled operator. The apparatus comprises a perimeter frame of uniform height, affixed rigidly and hermetically in a planar configuration by its base to the ferromagnetic base plate of the lead trimming machine; a plurality of equal-height support posts or rods, each having a board-support apex and a magnetic base perpendicular to its associated post; a support post positioning plate, the lower surface of which is drilled with a series of holes, the centers of which correspond to planar, unpopulated regions, free of conductive traces, on the populated side of a circuit board to be trimmed; and a circuit board support plate having a cut-out which is smaller, but proportionally similar to the profile of the board to be lead trimmed. The support posts are inserted into the holes in the positioning plate from its lower surface, each support post being retained in its respective positioning plate hole by its magnetized base.