A clamping system useful in miter edge fabrication. Two separate units, each including a vacuum plate may be placed on'separate slabs. The units are connected with a knuckle that can be rotated to provide connection of the slabs in a variety of angles. The units are vacuum sealed to the slabs via pressure tubes. The vacuum plates may include various sections of varied sizes to connect to different sized slabs. When the knuckle is locked, a worm gear will provide for lateral movement, relative the knuckle, to provide precision fitting of slabs.

A suction cup is provided, including: a cup body, including a sucking face, the cup body defining an axial direction perpendicular to the sucking face; a pump, connected to an end of the cup body opposite to the sucking face, the pump including a first passageway, a direction in which the first passageway extends and the axial direction forming an acute included angle therebetween; a movable handle, slidably disposed within the first passageway, including a piston.

A suction-cup end effector conforms to and grasps objects upon application of vacuum force. The suction cup assembly can have isotropic stiffness in a plane defined by a contact surface of the suction cup assembly and thus can conform regardless of the orientation of the suction cup to the object. The suction cup includes a foam suction cup body, a thin structural ring to provide a spring bias toward a rest position, and a sealing membrane within the structural ring to seal the suction cup.

An ergonomic frame-filler placement tool is manually operable to supply a vacuum fluid flow at a distal end of the tool that can be used by a worker to pick up and hold a piece of frame-filler material to the distal end of the tool, which enables the worker to manipulate the tool to position the piece of frame-filler material over a desired location of a fuselage mandrel and then manually stop the vacuum fluid flow at the distal end of the tool to position the piece of frame-filler material at the desired location on the mandrel.

A clamp for reinforcing a solid surface is disclosed and may be used with a top rail and a bottom rail. The clamp has a top jaw and a bottom jaw, each with a channel constructed to receive and align the top and bottom rails respectively in a first direction and a second direction. Each jaw has its own channel lip, shaft hole, and alignment pin hole. An alignment pin may be disposed of in the pin holes to inhibit the rotation of the jaws relative to each other. A shaft may be disposed of in the shaft holes, and the shaft may be at least partially threaded with a knob connected to the shaft. The clamp may have three configurations: a locked configuration; a sliding configuration; and a rail removal configuration. Multiple clamps may be used to construct a multidimensional frame to reinforce and support the solid surface.

The present application discloses an apparatus for mounting an O-ring to a work piece, which includes a body including a plurality of connecting holes for connecting a pressure source to the body; an annular groove formed on the body and adapted to receive the O-ring; and a plurality of air channels formed in the body, the plurality of air channels being in fluid communication with the annular groove and the plurality of connecting holes to provide negative pressure with the pressure source in the annular groove to suck the O-ring in the annular groove, the annular groove is coaxial with a groove formed on a surface of the work piece during the mounting so that the O-ring is dropped into the groove when the pressure source is disconnected from the body or provides positive pressure to the plurality of air channels.

A portable apparatus, and methods to operate the apparatus, comprising a base that securely engages with a tire, a motor support structure, an electric motor coupled to an electrical power source, a pulley system, one or more attachment devices, and an electrical motor control device utilized to raise and lower a windshield (or other component) from a vehicle.

A vacuum gripper comprises a rigid base element and a loop-shaped vacuum seal element. The base element has first and second opposite sides. The seal element is attached at least indirectly to the second side and protruding therefrom in a direction away from the first side. The seal element comprises a contact surface that at least partially contacts with an object surface and an encircling surface oriented transversely to the contact surface so as to define a chamber. The seal element is elastically deformable at the contact surface to enable conforming to the object surface when pressed thereagainst. The vacuum gripper comprises an air extraction means mounted to the first side to be in fluid communication with the chamber through the base element, and configured to continuously extract air from the chamber to cause the contact surface to be urged towards and grip the object surface when pressed thereagainst.

A clamp for reinforcing a solid surface is disclosed and may be used with a top and bottom rail. The clamp has a top and bottom jaw, each with a channel constructed to receive and align the top and bottom rails respectively in a first and second direction, respectively. Each jaw has its own channel lip, shaft hole, and alignment pin hole. An alignment may be disposed of in the pin holes to inhibit to rotation of the jaws relative to each other. A shaft may be disposed of in the shaft holes, and the shaft may be at least partially threaded with a knob connected to the shaft. The clamp may have three configurations: (1) a locked configuration; (2) a sliding configuration and (3) a rail removal configuration. Multiple clamps may be used to construct a multidimensional frame to reinforce and support the solid surface.

An apparatus comprising a heating unit and a support device is disclosed which apparatus is designed to place a controlled amount of heat into a very localized area of a substrate of interest. The substrate of interest here is intended to be a portion of a large structure [such as the portion of a ship]. The heating unit comprises a heat source and the necessary structure to closely control the heat applied to the substrate of interest. The support device supports the heating unit directly over the substrate of interest and permits the system to be secured to one surface of the substrate of interest in a removable and non-destructive manner. The support device has legs which have securing means on the bottom thereof to secure the system to one surface of the substrate of interest in a releasable and non-destructible way.