Method for separating a plurality of slices from workpieces by means of a wire saw during a sequence of separation processes

A method for cutting a multiplicity of slices, using a wire saw, from workpieces during a sequence of cut-off operations, which are divided into initial cuts and follow-on cuts, the wire saw comprising a wire array of moveable wire sections of a saw wire and an actuating device, and the wire array being tensioned in a plane between two wire guide rollers, each of the two wire guide rollers being supported between a fixed bearing and a floating bearing, the method comprising:

• during each of the cut-off operations, feeding a respective workpiece using the actuating device through the wire array along a feed direction perpendicular to a workpiece axis and perpendicular to the plane of the wire array in a presence of a working fluid and hard materials, which act abrasively on the workpiece, the feeding of the respective workpiece further comprising:
• during each of the cut-off operations, feeding the respective workpiece through the wire array with simultaneous axial movement of the floating bearings by adjusting the temperature of the fixed bearings with a cooling fluid in accordance with a specification of a temperature profile, which specifies the temperature of the cooling fluid in dependence on a depth of cut and correlates with a first correction profile, which specifies the travel of the floating bearings in dependence on the depth of cut;
• and
• feeding the workpiece through the wire array while simultaneously moving the workpiece along the workpiece axis by an actuating element in accordance with the specification of a second correction profile, which specifies the travel of the workpiece, the first correction profile and the second correction profile being opposed to a shape deviation;
• and
• determining the shape deviation during each of the cut-off operations and/or before each of the cut-off operations, wherein determining the shape deviation during each of the cut-off operations comprises measuring the shape deviation by comparing the position of a line through a center of at least one kerf with a position of a reference trajectory, wherein determining the shape deviation before each of the cut-off operations comprises determining the shape deviation by a comparison of an average shape profile of already cut-off slices with a reference shape profile.