In the manufacture of electrical devices, such as connectors, it is manifest for economical production that as many as possible of the fabricating, assembling and testing operations be performed on automated facilities. One of the problems in the use of such facilities is that a basic piece part on which the subsequent manufacturing operations are performed must be precisely positioned in such a way that the subsequent operations can be performed without interference with the positioning and clamping devices. Due to the high production requirements of such automated facilities it is also desirable that all component devices be positive acting, be simple in design, be rugged in construction and be susceptible to facile maintenance.
Numerous automated facilities have been developed and used to assemble various types of electrical devices. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,706,122 issued Dec. 19, 1972, to T. A. LaValle, there is shown a turntable on which is mounted a number of workholders for receiving a basic component to which additional components are attached upon movement of the turntable to advance the workholders through a number of subsequent work stations. The basic workpiece, a pin and sleeve, is oriented and dropped between the open jaws of a chuck which is controlled by an air cylinder to open and close about the workpiece. At the subsequent work stations, a wire is attached to the workpiece and the chuck is rotated during advance of the turntable by engaging a pinion secured to the chuck with a rack located external to the turntable. As the chuck is rotated, the wire is wound around the workpiece while a wire guide arm is moved to distribute the wire. The movement of the wire guide arm is controlled by a cam follower that rides on a cam surface which is external to the turntable.