Self normalizing drill head

摘要

An improved drilling device for drilling normal holes in a workpiece surface is carried and positioned by an automatic control arm. The improved drilling device includes a compliant drill head generally comprising a drill housing and a pressure foot. The pressure foot for contacting the workpiece surface is connected to the drill housing at a universally swiveling joint. The drill housing encloses a drill drive means that advances and rotates a drill tool about a drill axis. Both the pressure foot and the drill housing have axial chambers and holes for permitting the drill tool to advance to the workpiece surface. Linear gauges mounted to the drill housing probe the orientation of the pressure foot relative to the drill housing. The linear gauges provide data to the automatic control arm so that when the pressure foot contacts a portion of the workpiece surface that is not normal to the drill axis and the pressure foot swivels relative to the drill housing as the pressure foot orients normal to the workpiece surface, the control arm can realign the drill housing with the pressure foot so that the drill axis is normal to the work piece surface and so that the drill tool can be advanced and rotated toward and through the workpiece surface there by drilling a normal hole in the workpiece surface.