Apparatus for performing machining operations on a vehicle chassis

• Main Authors: Corin Bruce Mccrae, Mark Bryce Wilkin, Michael Craig Shatford, David Francis Bates, Damon Christopher Page
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 28.08.2020
• Subjects: COMBINATIONS OR ASSOCIATIONS OF METAL-WORKING MACHINES, NOTDIRECTED TO A PARTICULAR RESULT; CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; CONTROLLING; DETAILS, COMPONENTS, OR ACCESSORIES FOR MACHINE TOOLS, e.g.ARRANGEMENTS FOR COPYING OR CONTROLLING; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; LAND VEHICLES FOR TRAVELLING OTHERWISE THAN ON RAILS; MACHINE TOOLS; MACHINE TOOLS IN GENERAL CHARACTERISED BY THE CONSTRUCTION OFPARTICULAR DETAILS OR COMPONENTS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; MILLING; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS ORELEMENTS; MOTOR VEHICLES; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PHYSICS; REGULATING; TRAILERS; TRANSPORTING

A mobile machining apparatus for machining a heavy transport vehicle chassis in situ comprises a programmable machining tool (PMT) with one or more implements to work on the chassis, at least one rail along which the PMT can travel, a drive mechanism to move the PMT along said rail, and at least one releasable attachment assembly adapted to secure the rail onto the chassis and/or a locating arrangement which locates the rail onto the chassis, to enable the PMT to traverse along member(s) of the chassis to be machined and to perform one or more machining tasks on the chassis member(s) whilst the apparatus is directly secured or located on the chassis. The apparatus provides a means whereby machining details can be made quickly and accurately to a heavy transport vehicle chassis, reducing manufacturing time and cost while improving build quality.