Compliance mechanism

摘要

A tool holder has compliance features that allow a hole to be drilled at high tolerances by a remote controlled control arm. The holes are drilled in a workpiece that has a template secured over it with guide holes for positioning the holes to be drilled. A self-feeding drill of the type that will simultaneously rotate and advance a drill bit is mounted in a support. A sleeve is carried at the forward end of the support for enclosing the drill bit. An index carriage moves the support forwardly into the guide hole after the control arm has substantially aligned the sleeve with the guide hole. Compliance mechanisms in the support allow the entire drill, drill bit and sleeve to move as a unit a limited amount parallel to and angularly with respect to the template and the indexing carriage, to allow advancement of the sleeve into the guide hole even though there may have been initial misalignment. The compliance mechanisms preferably include an inner guide member mounted within an outer guide member. Radially oriented, spring-biased pins retain the outer guide member. Resilient disks mounted in mating cavities retain and allow compliance of the inner guide member.