A flexible assembling system incorporating at least one manufacturing cell including at least one universal fixture, at least one position monitoring device (e,g., monitoring system, 3D vision system, 3D vision system/scanner, artificial intelligence position determination and monitoring, artificial intelligence vision system to locate part or a feature(s) of the part, and combinations thereof), and at least one programmable robot or machine (e.g., punch, weld, etc.). The at least one universal fixture is a non-dedicated fixture such that the fixture is usable with various products and not dedicated to only one specific part being manufactured.

A method for installation and/or maintenance of a flange connection includes screw connections with a manually movable tool including a screw tensioning structure, a processing unit and a screw identification sensor. The method includes assigning a one-to-one identification to each screw connection of the flange connection, determining a screw connection to be tensioned, positioning the tool on a respective screw connection to be tensioned, identifying the respective screw connection by the screw identification sensor, releasing the screw tensioning structure by the processing unit, and tensioning the respective screw connection by the screw tensioning structure. It is checked whether the tool or the screw tensioning structure is placed correctly on the screw connection. The screw tensioning structure is released when the result of this check is positive and/or the screw tensioning structure is blocked or stopped when the result of this check is negative.

A feed control device for a drill press includes a case and a spindle unit extends perpendicularly through the case. The spindle unit includes a shank and a spindle which has a toothed portion formed to the outer periphery thereof. A depth detection unit is located beside the toothed portion. A driving unit is located at the rear end of the case and includes a motor and a belt which is connected between the motor and the shank. A feed unit includes a gear, a shaft and a feed handle. The shaft extends horizontally through the case and is perpendicular to the toothed portion. The feed handle is connected to the left end or the right end of the shaft of the feed unit so that right-handed or left-handed users can operate the feed handle. A control unit is electrically connected to the motor and the depth detection unit.

The invention relates to a device for monitoring the contact of a workpiece (1) or tool on a spindle (2) of a machine tool, which device has a contact surface (3) for the workpiece (1) or tool. At least one measurement nozzle (4) is arranged in the region of the contact surface in order to produce a fluid flow directed away from the contact surface (3). Upstream of the measurement nozzle, the fluid flow is conducted through a vacuum nozzle, which can comprise a jet nozzle (7c) and a collector nozzle (7b). When the fluid medium flows through the vacuum nozzle, the vacuum nozzle produces a negative pressure in a negative pressure chamber (9c). A pressure sensor (6) or pressure switch senses a measurement pressure (p3) in the negative pressure chamber.

A processing apparatus includes a chuck table having a holding surface for holding a workpiece; a horizontal moving mechanism that moves the chuck table in a horizontal direction and is supplied with a first oil; and a vertical moving mechanism that moves a processing unit in a vertical direction and is supplied with a second oil. Before mounting the workpiece on the holding surface, the holding surface is imaged by a camera while being irradiated with light, and it is examined whether or not the picked-up image is emitting light. If there is a light-emitting part in the picked-up image, it is determined that oil is adhered to the light-emitting part.

Rotary knifes/cutters play an important role in manufacturing of finished products. The rotary cutters tend to lose their cutting material over time. Hence to compensate, pressure applied by cylinder over rotary cutter needs to be changed. But this change in pressure needs to be optimum as too high pressure can lead to loss of material and too low pressure can stop cutting operation. Present application provides methods and systems for real time estimation of pressure change requirements for rotary cutters. The system first determines minimum and maximum usage limit for rotary cutter based on historical rotary cutter usage data and real-time pressure value using first trained model. The system, upon determining that minimum usage limit is reached, determines time for next pressure change based on physical parameters using second trained model. Thereafter, system compares estimated time with estimated maximum usage limit and displays notification to change pressure based on comparison.

A processing method includes: a step of setting a workpiece having a workpiece surface made of a material containing metal, on a precision processing machine; and a forming step of forming multiple grooves having a V-shaped cross-section, at intervals of a constant pitch in a predetermined area on the workpiece surface, using a tool provided in the precision processing machine to thereby form a V-groove pattern made up of the multiple grooves, in the predetermined area. In the forming step, each time one groove is formed, the relative position between the tool and the workpiece is moved in a direction intersecting the longitudinal direction of the groove and the angle of the groove face of the groove is gradually varied so that a uniform color can be visually recognized in every location in the predetermined area when the predetermined area is observed from a predetermined viewpoint.

A power tool comprising a power tool housing and a motor within the power tool housing. The motor including a rotor and a stator, the rotor coupled to a motor shaft to produce a rotational output. The power tool further includes a sensor within the power tool housing, the sensor configured to sense a free fall of the power tool, generate an output signal related to the sensed free fall. The power tool further includes a controller including a processor and a memory, the controller configured to receive the output signal from the sensor, detect the free fall of the power tool based on the output signal from the sensor, and brake the motor when the free fall of the power tool is detected.

In a device and method for determining a contact between a tool and a workpiece, which are displaceable relative to each other, the tool or workpiece being rotationally fixedly connected to a shaft, the device includes a measuring arrangement including a measuring scale rotationally fixedly disposed on the shaft and at least one position encoder disposed in a stationary manner relative to the shaft, and a processing device. The position encoder is adapted to scan the measuring scale and to generate position values indicating a position of the shaft. The position values are fed to the processing device, which determines contact between the tool and the workpiece by evaluating a progression of the position values and signals the result of the evaluation by the status of a displacement signal.

A method for calibrating a positional relation between a main spindle and a contact tool sensor attached to a table in a machine tool. The method includes: mounting a reference tool on the main spindle and obtaining measurement position coordinates as respective tool sensor measurement values, the measurement position coordinates being of a distal end of the reference tool in at least two different measurement regions on an upper surface of the contact tool sensor; outputting predetermined difference values based on the respective tool sensor measurement values; determining an abnormality when the difference values are compared with preliminarily set acceptable values and at least one of the difference values are out of the acceptable values; and calibrating a positional relation between the main spindle and the contact tool sensor based on the respective tool sensor measurement values when the abnormality is not determined at the determining of abnormality.