Control system and method for processing jewelry and the like

A processing control system for controlling processing of a series of workpieces, comprising:

• a gantry unit having a frame and a horizontal work plate mounted on the frame, and a gantry system having x, y and z translational directions of freedom, each direction of freedom having an associated sliding carriage and drive motor;
• a gimbal unit mounted on the gantry system above the work plate and having x, y and z rotational degrees of freedom and associated x, y and z gimbal motors for controlling rotation about the x, y and z rotational axes of the gimbal unit;
• a gripper unit secured to the gimbal unit for holding a workpiece to be processed and an actuator for actuating the gripper unit to grip and release a workpiece;
• a plurality of processing stations mounted on the work plate, each processing station having at least one associated actuator for controlling operation of one or more tools at the processing station;
• a controller linked to the gantry and gimbal unit motors, the gripper unit actuator, and the processing station actuators for controlling movement of the gripper unit from a start position to pick up a workpiece and move it along a programmed path between the processing stations, and for controlling operation of actuators at each processing station to process workpieces according to stored program instructions;
• at least one user input device linked to said controller for selective manual control of said gantry and gimbal unit motors, gripper unit actuator, and processing station actuators;
• and
• an output monitor for displaying machine and operating parameters to a user.

A method of controlling a jewelry processing machine to process a plurality of workpieces, the processing machine having a gantry unit for x, y and z translational positioning of a workpiece, a gimbal unit mounted on the gantry unit for x, y and z rotational positioning of the workpiece, a main gripper unit for holding the workpiece from the inside or the outside and in horizontal or vertical orientations, and a plurality of spaced workstations for manipulating or processing the workpiece, the method comprising the following steps:

• setting up at least one desired trajectory of a workpiece from a storage tray through a selected series of end positions at workstations, the trajectory being associated with a selected workpiece style;
• setting up a series of parameters for processing each style of workpiece, the parameters comprising grinding force parameters and motor speeds;
• setting up a series of workpiece locations on a storage tray;
• controlling the gantry and gimbal motors to move the main gripper unit to a first position over a workpiece on the storage tray;
• controlling the gantry motors and gripper unit to move to the workpiece, grip the workpiece, and move the workpiece from the tray;
• controlling the gantry and gimbal motors to move the workpiece along the desired trajectory and stop at each end position;
• at each end position, controlling the tool at the workstation and the gantry and gimbal motors to carry out a processing operation at the workstation before continuing to move the workpiece along the desired trajectory to the next workstation;
• after the workpiece has been processed at the last workstation in the series, moving the workpiece to an end position;
• controlling the gripper unit to release the workpiece;
• controlling the gantry, gimbal and gripper units to move to the next workpiece position on the tray and to pick up the next workpiece to be processed according to the instructions associated with the style stored for that workpiece;
• and
• repeating the procedure until all workpieces on a tray have been processed.

A control system for controlling operation of a processing machine for processing a workpiece at a series of workstations, the processing machine including a transport device for transporting the workpiece to and from each workstation, the control system comprising:

• a graphical user interface for providing a graphical output to the user and allowing input of user commands to the system;
• hardware input/output cards for connection to the hardware components of the processing machine and for input of data from the hardware components to the control system and output of commands to the hardware components;
• software drivers connected to the input/output cards for controlling operation of the transport device and drives for tools at workstations in the machine;
• control software connected to the software drivers for providing two way communications between the software drivers and the remainder of the control system, the control software comprising an OPC server;
• an OPC client connected to the OPC server for providing two way communication between the graphical user interface and the OPC server;
• and
• a data base connected to the graphical user interface and the OPC client for storing system parameters and workpiece processing software sequences;
• the graphical user interface comprising a plurality of software modules, the modules comprising at least a manual module for user control of the transport device and workstations in a training mode, an auto module for controlling an automatic workpiece processing sequence according to instructions stored in the data base, and a monitoring module for monitoring workpiece processing and displaying current processing parameters to a user.