A boring, milling, thread cutting or analogous machine has a frame for a work supporting table and a first carriage which is reciprocable in the X-direction. The first carriage supports an open-and-shut magazine for a supply of spare tools as well as a second carriage which is movable in the Y-direction. The second carriage supports a headstock which is movable with a vertical tool spindle in the Z-direction. The magazine is opened in automatic response to movement of the second carriage in the Y direction and to a predetermined position in which the tool spindle can be relieved of the tool thereon by being lifted upwardly. An indexing mechanism of the magazine then places a selected tool into the path of downward movement of the spindle so that, when the spindle descends, the freshly selected tool is automatically coupled thereto. The second carriage is thereupon moved in the direction of the Y-axis to enable the magazine to become shut. A further selected tool is placed in a position adjacent to the locus of transfer onto the tool spindle while the tool which at such time is attached to the tool spindle is used for the treatment of a workpiece on the table. The device which actually opens the magazine in response to movement of the second carriage in the direction of the Y-axis to a predetermined position is a cam which spreads apart portions of elastically deformable guide rails provided in the magazine and defining an elongated path for the indexing of spare tools therealong.

A device for positioning and locking turning, milling or other tool holders onto mobile slides with an internal spindle, comprising a first sytem (14) of conventional type for machining centers which is designed to lock tools (37) usually carried by this type of machine; the device also comprises two diametrically opposing levers external to the slide (10), which are hinged (31) to the slide (10) and each comprises two end teeth (32, 33), of which the first (32) is opposite a projection (29) on the piston (28) of a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder (23), and the second (33) is arranged to engage in a tool holder (43) of a lathe tool (42) in order to lock it; the locking condition occurs when the piston (28) carrying the projection (29) has moved under the action of spring (27) so as to press against the opposing tooth (32) of the lever (30), so rotating this latter (30) such as to cause its other tooth (33) to engage in the tool holder (43); the release condition occurs when the piston (28) carrying the projection (29) has moved against spring (27), so as to cause the opposing tooth (32) of the lever to abandon the projection (29) such that the lever (30), urged by its spring (35), rotates in order to disengage the second tooth (33) from the tool holder (43).

In a turret type of machine tool having a turret head which can be rotated for indexing to selectively index an arbitrary one of tool mounting members provided in a plurality of circumferential portions into a machining position which coincides with a predetermined radial direction, the construction of the turret head is simplified to reduce the cost and increase the reliability. A first supporting body is provided which is connected to a moving mechanism which advances or recedes the turret head along an axis of machining coinciding with the axial line of the tool mounting member at the machining position. A second supporting body which is movable along the axis of machining is supported on the first supporting body, and the turret head is rotatably supported on the second supporting body so as to be rotated for indexing. A spindle head is fixed to the first supporting body such that a spindle to be supported on the spindle head coincides with the axis of machining. At least a front end of the spindle head is contained in a space inside the turret head. A tool holder to be held by the tool mounting member in the machining position is engaged with, or detached from, the spindle by the movement of the second supporting body relative to the first supporting body.

An apparatus for inserting electronic elements comprises: a board positioning means having a pair of rails disposed on an X-Y table, the board positioning means being adapted to fix and position a board which is fed thereto along the rails; an element supply means having a plurality of element supply units each adapted to feed to its element supply position an electronic element to be inserted in the board, the element supply units being arranged such that their element supply positions are placed in one or a plurality of rows; a plurality of chucks each formed such as to correspond to the configuration and size of the associated electronic elements to be inserted; an inserting head having a holder mechanism and adapted to detachably support one of the chucks by the holder mechanism and to reciprocatively move between a chuck exchanging position and element supply and insertion positions; and a chuck exchanging means including a chuck unit in which the chucks are arranged on an index-movable plate and a chuck exchanging unit which is adapted to actuate the holder mechanism of the inserting head thereby to load and unload the chuck.

An automatic tool change machine tool having a vertical column on which a tool stock receiving therein a vertically movable tool bar is mounted. The tool bar is provided with a toolholder receiving means at the lowermost end for the attachment of a toolholder having a cutting tool. The machine tool further has a toolholder magazine storing a plurality of toolholders. The magazine is turned around the vertical column so that one of the toolholders is indexed to a predetermined position where toolholders are attached to and detached from the tool bar in one reciprocal vertical movement of the tool bar.