Method and system for forming a surgical pillow

A method for fabricating a surgical pillow, the method comprising:

• arranging a prismatic foam block on a table surface, the prismatic foam block defining a lateral (x) axis, a longitudinal (y) axis, and an elevation (z) axis;
• executing, via a contour cutting machine, a first through-cut in the prismatic foam block orthogonal to a yz-plane to form a plurality of lateral notches;
• executing, via the contour cutting machine, a plurality of second through-cuts in the prismatic foam block orthogonal to the yz-plane and orthogonal to an xy-plane to form a plurality of identical first columns;
• executing, via the contour cutting machine, a third through-cut in the prismatic foam block orthogonal to an xz-plane to form a plurality of profile portions and a plurality of base portions, wherein each of the plurality of profile portions includes an opposed side support portion defining a medial notch;
• separating a plurality of intermediate workpieces, wherein each of the plurality of intermediate workpieces is a unitary piece having the base portion and the profile portion, and wherein the plurality of intermediate workpieces are identically shaped;
• executing, via a die cut press, a plurality of through-cuts in the xy-plane in the plurality of intermediate workpieces to form a plurality of lateral notches in the plurality of base portions;
• executing, via the die cut press, a plurality of first partial cuts in the xy-plane in the plurality of intermediate workpieces to form a plurality of opposed side cutout portions in the plurality of profile portions;
• executing a second partial vertical cut in the xy-plane in the plurality of intermediate workpieces to form a plurality of nose-mouth (NM) cutout portions in the plurality of profile portions;
• and
• executing at least one lateral cut and executing at least one longitudinal cut to separate the plurality of intermediate workpieces into a plurality of individual workpieces.

A system for fabricating a surgical pillow, the system comprising:

• a contour cutting machine, a die cut press, and a controller;
• wherein the controller is operatively connected to the contour cutting machine and the die cut press;
• wherein the contour cutting machine and the die cut press are arranged to act upon a prismatic foam block disposed on a table surface, the prismatic foam block defining a lateral (x) axis, a longitudinal (y) axis, and an elevation (z) axis;
• the controller including algorithmic code that is executable to:
• execute, via the contour cutting machine, a first through-cut in the prismatic foam block orthogonal to a yz-plane to form a plurality of lateral notches;
• execute, via the contour cutting machine, a plurality of second through-cuts in the prismatic foam block orthogonal to the yz-plane and orthogonal to an xy-plane to form a plurality of identical first columns;
• execute, via the contour cutting machine, a third through-cut in the prismatic foam block orthogonal to an xz-plane to form a plurality of profile portions and a plurality of base portions, wherein each of the plurality of profile portions includes an opposed side support portion defining a medial notch;
• separate a plurality of identical intermediate workpieces, wherein each of the identical intermediate workpieces includes a unitary piece having the base portion and the profile portion;
• execute, via the die cut press, a plurality of through-cuts in the xy-plane in the intermediate workpieces to form a plurality of medial notches in the plurality of base portions;
• execute, via the die cut press, a plurality of first partial cuts in the xy-plane in the intermediate workpieces to form a plurality of opposed side cutout portions in the plurality of profile portions;
• execute, via the die cut press, a second partial vertical cut in the xy-plane in the intermediate workpiece to form nose-mouth (NM) cutout portions in the plurality of profile portions;
• and
• execute at least one lateral cut and execute at least one longitudinal cut to separate the intermediate workpiece into a plurality of individual workpieces.