A flying punch and cutoff machine that performs an operation on a moving item that moves at a line speed includes a support assembly; a carriage assembly movably supported by the support assembly; a tooling assembly supported by the carriage assembly, the tooling assembly including a tool to perform an operation on the moving item; a roller rack and pinion mechanism supported by the support assembly and configured to impart motion to the carriage assembly; and a controller configured to control the roller rack and pinion mechanism so that a line speed of the carriage assembly and tool matches the line speed of the moving item so that the operation is performed on the moving item with that no relative motion occurring between the moving item and the tool.