Control device for and method of operating a metal clad cable cutting machine

A machine for fabricating a plurality of whips from a single cable, the cable having an outer jacket and one or more conductors enclosed by the outer jacket, each whip having a portion of the outer jacket and the one or more conductors therein, the machine comprising:

• an input into which the cable is fed into the machine and an output through which the whips exit the machine, wherein a cable travel space is defined along a longitudinal axis between the input and the output;
• a notching saw downstream of the input;
• a first motor operatively connected to the notching saw, wherein the notching saw is configured to be moved between a first position and a second position by the first motor, wherein the notching saw is in contact with the outer jacket of the cable in the first position, and wherein the notching saw is not in contact with the outer jacket of the cable the second position;
• a second motor operatively connected to the notching saw, wherein the second motor is configured to drive the notching saw, wherein activation of the first and second motors causes the notching saw to cut the outer jacket of the cable in a direction parallel to or substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the cable to form a notch in the cable when the notching saw is in the first position;
• a cutting tool downstream of the notching saw and upstream of the output, the cutting tool having at least one cutting edge;
• at least one motor operatively connected to the cutting tool, wherein activation of the at least one motor operatively connected to the cutting tool causes the at least one cutting edge of the cutting tool to completely cut the outer jacket and the conductors of the cable from a remainder of the cable during the same cutting motion and in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis when the at least one cutting edge of the cutting tool passes through the cable travel space to form each whip;
• and
• a controller configured to receive whip information corresponding to the whips to be fabricated, the controller operatively coupled to the motors and configured to control operation of the motors based at least in part on the whip information corresponding to the whips to be fabricated, wherein in response to receipt of the whip information the controller causes:
• a. the first motor to move the notching saw into the first position when the cable is in a first location,
• b. the second motor to actuate the notching saw to cut a longitudinally extending notch having a length in the outer jacket of the cable,
• c. the first motor to move the notching saw into the second position,
• d. the least one motor operatively connected to the cutting tool to actuate the cutting tool to completely cut the outer jacket and the conductors of the cable in accordance with specifications defined by the whip information to separate the whip from the remainder of the cable when the cable is in a second location and thereby forming a first whip, the second location being spaced from the first location,
• e. the first motor to move the notching saw into the first position when the cable is in a third location, the third location being spaced from the second location,
• f. the second motor to actuate the notching saw to cut a longitudinally extending notch having a length in the outer jacket of the cable,
• g. the first motor to move the notching saw into the second position, and
• h. the least one motor operatively connected to the cutting tool to actuate the cutting tool to completely cut the outer jacket and the conductors of the cable in accordance with specifications defined by the whip information to separate the whip from the remainder of the cable when the cable is in a fourth location and thereby forming a second whip, the fourth location being spaced from the third location.