anybody know what this is

[monk]

curious s heck. what is this device, and what does it do?

 

[mitch]

impossible to tell. in particular, are there TWO separate units, or is it two stages in a single mechanism? it appears the component on the right (and presumably the partially hidden one, too) swivel horizontally to feed or receive something to/from the other two components, which appear to tilt back & forth in a vertical plane. it's curious that there does not appear to be any linkage between the pairs of components to synchronize their movements, so that may be activated by contact with the extended tube? there also appears what might be an electric switch on the unit on the left, but it could be strictly mechanical, or just a simple shaft/rod (pic is too small). idk, part of some sort of sorting machine?

one of my favorite areas of engineering are the machines designed to consistently orient & feed odd-shaped parts into high-speed equipment such as injection molders or robotic assemblers.

 

[graniteguy52]

I love it when people talk like that!!!

 

[graniteguy52]

I'm at a loss as to what it is but found you can buy it on ebay:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/392223793813

 

[mitch]

I'm at a loss as to what it is but found you can buy it on ebay:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/392223793813

"jewelry ring engraving machine device" huh. not sure how it's actually used, but apparently the tapered tube is a mandrel to hold a ring? so it seems it's just a fixture (and yeah, Monk's first post shows two units) for holding rings for engraving in another machine? another missing clue was scale- tough to tell what something is when you don't know if it's 6" long or 6'.

 

[monk]

yeah, i forgot to mention the bay claims it engraves rings. i don't see how that could happen. i'm dang near tempted to buy the thing just to see what it is.