Control system for positioning a cutting tool in an automatic turning machine for automatically positioning and controlling the movement of the cutting tool

Claim 1

In a tracer control system for a machine tool which includes a machine component reciprocally movable along a pair of angularly related axes for processing a workpiece, and which includes a chuck rotatable about a particular axis for rotatably supporting said workpiece, said machine tool further including first and second motors for moving said component along said axes, and a third motor for driving said chuck, said control system including a sensing head mechanically coupled to said machine component to be movable therewith; said sensing head including a stylus deflectable in all directions in a selected plane, and said stylus being adapted to engage the edge of a template supported in said plane; the combination of: a source of signals coupled to said sensing head for supplying thereto a first pair of opposite phased reference signals and a second pair of oppositely phased reference signals phase displaced with respect to said first pair, said reference signals causing said sensing head to generate an output signal having a phase representative of the direction of deflection of said stylus in said plane and an amplitude representative of the magnitude of such displacement; first rectifier circuit means coupled to said source for producing a first unidirectional signal representative of the amplitude of the signals from said source; second rectifier circuit means coupled to said sensing head for producing a second unidirectional signal representative of the amplitude of said output from said sensing head; summing circuit means coupled to said first and second rectifier circuit means; and utilization circuit means coupled to said summing circuit means for utilizing the output therefrom to control said first and second motors.