A versatile palletized system provides for work to be held in place even while a top plate (7) as one type of workholder web is transferred. Movement can be provided by a coordinated topographically fixed movement web (39) which may have hydraulic pistons or other movement mechanisms (11) which cause actuation of a great variety of workholder devices (8) which may be attached to the workholder web (7). Accurate, repeatable positioning between the two webs can be accomplished for quick changeout ...

A conformal vacuum cup provides a machine tool attachment fitting usable in a flexible-track drill system. Using multiple, independently articulated stiffeners, the conformal vacuum cup conforms to the contour of complex aerostructure surface shapes. The individual stiffeners are decoupled from each other to some extent by grooves and slots molded into resilient overmolding material to support long-axis curving. Spacing pins employ a domed shape consonant with the elastic deformation of the work...

A flexible hydraulic vise that is actuated hydraulically along the entire length of the jaw travel. The vise includes master jaws disposed in a complementary shaped tracks, connected to pistons by pins. Top jaws with spring loaded ball detents are secured to the master jaws by a dove-tail notch connection. Internal passageways allow pressure to be delivered to either side of pairs of the pistons disposed in the bores, allowing the clamping force to be exerted inwardly or outwardly.

A conformal vacuum cup provides a machine tool attachment fitting usable in a flexible-track drill system. Using multiple, independently articulated stiffeners, the conformal vacuum cup conforms to the contour of complex aerostructure surface shapes. The individual stiffeners are decoupled from each other to some extent by grooves and slots molded into resilient overmolding material to support long-axis curving. Spacing pins employ a domed shape consonant with the elastic deformation of the work...

A clamp system includes a plurality of clamping devices arrayed along at least a first hydraulic supply loop and a plurality of support devices arrayed along at least a second hydraulic supply loop. The clamping devices may include vertical rotating clamping devices which rotate vertically to secure a workpiece to a base plate. The clamping devices may also include horizontally rotating clamping devices which rotate axially and extend vertically to clamp the workpiece. The support devices suppor...

An actuator (10) for use in installing or extracting piles and the like has a common member (12) supported at (14) and having jaws (16) for gripping a pile. Within the block (12) a double-acting piston (18) is located alongside a space (20) for a control valve arrangement which provides hydraulic fluid, in various ways described, to create vibratory or impact forces from the piston (18). The piston and the valve arrangements are both removable and replaceable by alternatives, to modify the mode ...

A pallet for clamping a workpiece to be processed, in particular by machining operations, wherein the pallet is connected to a holding fixture which accommodates a quick-acting connection which is provided with conduits for the feed of a hydraulic fluid to a piston/cylinder unit and with a quick-acting connection in combination with conduits for the return of the hydraulic fluid, in which case these first connections can be connected to second quick-acting connections which are connected to a co...

A apparatus includes an arm, a housing having a chamber, a vane rotatably movable within the chamber and an engaging member. The engaging member is slidingly coupled to the arm. The engaging member is selectively positionable in an engaged and a disengaged position with the vane such that the arm rotates in response to rotation of the vane when the engaging member is in the engaged position.

An immobilizing device particularly useful during processing or testing flat workpieces includes an air-cushion unit carried at the lower end of a carrier member and having an annular skirt defining with the workpiece, an air-cushion chamber effective, when pressurized, to cause the air-cushion unit to hover over the workpiece to permit relative movement between the air-cushion unit and the workpiece and table, while immobilizing and flattening the board with respect to the table.

The invention relates to a vacuum tightening system comprising a supporting base and a modular suction device for tightening a work piece. According to the invention, the modular suction device and the work piece can be tightened by means of a vacuum circuit in which the vacuum pressure is increased for tightening the work piece.