INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT

(in machine building), devices designed to set up and hold blanks or stock in the proper position relative to the workingmembers of a machine tool and cutting tools, to move parts or articles (accessory attachments), and to perform assemblyoperations.
In terms of the degree of specialization, industrial equipment is classified as specialized equipment, designed to processspecific parts (or groups of separate parts); multipurpose adjustable equipment, to process parts of various shapes anddimensions, with resetting for each standard size by replacement of some elements, adjustment of their positions, andadditional alignment; and multipurpose equipment, to process parts of various shapes and dimensions without resetting. Interms of the type of layout, a distinction is made between unitized equipment, which consists of independent, standardizedmultipurpose assemblies and subassemblies, and specialized equipment composed of special-purpose assemblies andparts. Unitized equipment includes multipurpose jigs, which may be assembled from warehoused parts and subassembliesand then disassembled after use.
Industrial equipment usually includes mounting, clamping, guiding (or adjusting), indexing, and rotating elements, and alsomechanized (mechanical, pneumatic, hydraulic, pneumohydraulic, and electromechanical) drives to actuate the elements.
In modern practice, industrial equipment includes monitoring, adjustment, interlock, and safety devices. The monitoringequipment is usually directly linked to the machining process and is interconnected with the basic equipment. When a parthas reached a specified dimension during the machining process, the monitoring equipment sends a command impulse tostop the machining. The adjustment devices check the parts immediately after machining and send a command impulse forthe automatic correction of the settings on the mechanisms. The interlock and safety devices send a command impulse tostop machining in case of a disruption of setting or a broken tool.