Sensor leg assembly for a contour follower
View Patent ↗A contour follower includes a plurality of sensors spaced around a waterjet nozzle, each of the sensors being configured to measure a distance between a working surface and a first plane, perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the nozzle. The sensors may include hall-effect sensors lying in the first plane and magnets lying in a second plane, parallel to the working surface. A detecting circuit processes signals from the sensors to determine an angle of the working surface, relative to the first plane, and a distance between an aperture of the nozzle and the working surface. A collision detection sensor provides a signal in the event the device approaches to within a selected distance of an obstruction in the plane of the working surface. A shield plate blocks and dampens secondary spray-back of cutting fluid occurring at low angles above the working surface.
1. A sensor leg assembly, comprising:
an upper member having an axially traversing aperture;
a sensor shaft positioned within the aperture and configured to move axially within the aperture, the sensor shaft having first and second ends, the first end having a cavity formed axially with the shaft;
a magnet positioned within the cavity; and
a lower member having a bearing surface configured to receive the second end of the sensor shaft.
2. The sensor leg assembly of claim 1 , further comprising a cylindrical bellows coupled at a first end to the upper member and at a second end to the lower member, and substantially enclosing the sensor shaft.
3. The sensor leg assembly of claim 1 wherein the upper member comprises a mounting flange configured to be received into a first mounting socket of a contour follower assembly, and wherein the lower member comprises a mounting flange configured to be received into a second mounting socket of the contour follower assembly.
4. A sensor leg assembly, comprising:
an upper member having an axially traversing aperture;
a sensor shaft positioned within the aperture and configured to move axially within the aperture, the sensor shaft having first and second ends, the first end having a cavity formed axially with the shaft;
a magnet positioned within the cavity;
a lower member having a bearing surface configured to receive the second end of the sensor shaft; and
a cylindrical bellows coupled at a first end to the upper member and at a second end to the lower member, and substantially enclosing the sensor shaft.
5. A sensor leg assembly, comprising:
an upper member having an axially traversing aperture and a first mounting flange configured to be received into a first mounting socket of a contour follower assembly;
a sensor shaft positioned within the aperture and configured to move axially within the aperture, the sensor shaft having first and second ends, the first end having a cavity formed axially with the shaft;
a magnet positioned within the cavity; and
a lower member having a bearing surface configured to receive the second end of the sensor shaft, and a second mounting flange configured to be received into a second mounting socket of the contour follower assembly.