An automatic assembly machine with a rotatable socket adapted to be advanced downwardly through an active stroke to drive a hex head screw into a workpiece. Screws are supplied one at a time to the socket by a loading mechanism having a pair of jaws adapted to close and open to grip and release a screw. While the jaws are closed, a screw is forcibly blown into the jaws through a pneumatic supply tube. As the socket retracts, the jaws are shifted transversely inwardly toward the socket and move beneath the socket as soon as the socket moves upwardly past the jaws. Thereafter, the jaws are moved upwardly along the same path as the socket but at a speed greater than the speed of the socket to enable the jaws to overtake the socket and place the screw into the socket. When the socket starts its downstroke, the jaws move downwardly away from the socket and are cammed open to release the screw. Thereafter, the jaws are shifted transversely from beneath the socket and are shifted to the supply tube to receive the next screw.
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