Apparatus and method for laser or plasma cutting of pieces of laminar material wound in coil

An apparatus for laser or plasma cutting of pieces from laminar material wound in coil, comprising:

• a cutting station, provided with at least one laser or plasma cutting head movable within an operative cutting area, which is placed downstream of an entrance of the laminar material in said station along a longitudinal advancing direction of said material and is made above a receiving cavity of the cutting swarf of the laminar material;
• means for positioning a portion of said laminar material in said operating area on a cuttingplane placed on top of said receiving cavity, wherein said positioning means are suitable to maintain said portion of laminar material blocked on said cutting plane during the cutting operations, suspended in the air and longitudinally stretched over said receiving cavity;
• and
• an electronic control unit in charge of controlling the operation of said apparatus;
• and
• at least one movable collection device for selective collection of the machined pieces, wherein said movable collection device defines a continuous collection surface and is movable under the cutting plane and parallel to said cutting plane between an active position, wherein said movable collection device is positioned inside said operative cutting area closing the receiving cavity between the cutting plane and the bottom of said cavity, and a passive position, wherein said movable collection device is positioned outside said operative cutting area outside the receiving cavity,
• and wherein said electronic control unit is programmed to control the movement of said movable collection device between said active position and said passive position in coordination with the execution of the cutting operations, in such a way that that said movable collection device is in the passive position when the cutting head is performing cutting operations that generate swarf, in order to leave said swarf free to fall by gravity inside the receiving cavity, and said movable collection device is instead in the active position, when the cutting head is performing cutting operations which lead to the complete detachment of the pieces from the skeleton so that the pieces are collected by the movable collection device separately from the swarf and from the skeleton, which is retained by positioning means on the cutting plane above said movable collection device, wherein said positioning means comprise:
• a support structure,
• a movable gripping device, which is susceptible of acting in gripping on a transverse portion of the laminar material and is movable with respect to said support structure parallel to said longitudinal advancing direction of said material to drag at least a portion of the laminar material from the entrance inside the operative cutting area on the cutting plane;
• and
• a fixed reversible blocking device, which is associated with said support structure to act transversely near the entrance on the part of laminar material placed there, said reversible blocking device being operable in blocking in conjunction with said movable gripping device to longitudinally stretch the portion of laminar material dragged by the movable gripping device inside the operating area.

An apparatus for laser or plasma cutting of pieces from laminar material wound in coil, comprising:

• a cutting station, provided with at least one laser or plasma cutting head movable within an operative cutting area, which is placed downstream of an entrance of the laminar material in said station along a longitudinal advancing direction of said material and is made above a receiving cavity of the cutting swarf of the laminar material;
• means for positioning a portion of said laminar material in said operating area on a cuttingplane placed on top of said receiving cavity, wherein said positioning means are suitable to maintain said portion of laminar material blocked on said cutting plane during the cutting operations, suspended in the air and longitudinally stretched over said receiving cavity;
• and
• an electronic control unit in charge of controlling the operation of said apparatus;
• and
• at least one movable collection device for selective collection of the machined pieces, wherein said movable collection device defines a continuous collection surface and is movable under the cutting plane and parallel to said cutting plane between an active position, wherein said movable collection device is positioned inside said operative cutting area closing the receiving cavity between the cutting plane and the bottom of said cavity, and a passive position, wherein said movable collection device is positioned outside said operative cutting area outside the receiving cavity,
• and wherein said electronic control unit is programmed to control the movement of said movable collection device between said active position and said passive position in coordination with the execution of the cutting operations, in such a way that that said movable collection device is in the passive position when the cutting head is performing cutting operations that generate swarf, in order to leave said swarf free to fall by gravity inside the receiving cavity, and said movable collection device is instead in the active position, when the cutting head is performing cutting operations which lead to the complete detachment of the pieces from the skeleton so that the pieces are collected by the movable collection device separately from the swarf and from the skeleton, which is retained by positioning means on the cutting plane above said movable collection device, wherein the movable selective collection device of machined pieces is guided by a support structure in the movement between said active position and said passive position and wherein said apparatus comprises a motor for moving said movable collection device between said active and passive positions;
• and
• wherein said support structure comprises a coupling portion which extends parallel to said longitudinal advancing direction of the material inside said receiving cavity and has a transverse size limited to a peripheral part of said receiving cavity.