Method and apparatus for marking or cutting laminar patterns or forms

A method of automatically producing laminar patterns which comprise the closed, interrelated sides of a three dimensional product, by the control of a mechanically driven plotting apparatus to at least mark said patterns on a sheet of material positioned on a plotting bed of said plotting apparatus, said plotting apparatus including a plotting head supported for independent movement parallel to the plotting bed along mutually perpendicular X and Y axes, said plotting head being driven selectively along the respective X and Y axes under the control of computer means, the method including the steps of:

• A. Storing in a memory of said computer means information representative of basic types of the three dimensional product and related, two dimensional pattern types required for the construction of the laminar patterns comprising the closed sides of the product, each said two dimensional pattern type having a specified geometry and at least one mathematical relationship relating basic actual dimensions of the product to the specified geometry, substantially all variations of the product being developable from said two dimensional pattern types, said basic dimensions comprising the size of the open sides of the product and at least one dimension determining the spatial relationship of the open sides;
• B. Sequentially providing information to said computer means of said basic dimensions of the product;
• C. Computing with said computer means the dimensions of the laminar patterns of each of the closed sides of the product;
• D. Sequentially rotating and positionally orienting the dimensional representations of the developed patterns stored in said computer means without operator interaction and decision making to determine that orientation of the patterns which results in the smallest required surface area of at least a portion of a sheet of material of stock dimensions;
• and
• E. Employing the data developed and stored in said computer means to mark out physical representations of said patterns on said sheet of material by the selective traversing of said plotting head along said X and Y axes.

Apparatus for creating a pattern for a three-dimensional product which can be fabricated from patterns of laminar sheet material including:

• a. means for electronically creating through mathematical calculation the pattern of a selected portion of the end product on the basis of dimensional information;
• b. means for electronically creating through mathematical calculation the other of the patterns of the end product;
• c. means for positioning all the patterns required for such end product in a grouping such that the grouping when aligned on a sheet material may be severed from the sheet material by a single substantially straight cut across the sheet material;
• d. means for positioning selected pairs of patterns in said group with like edge configurations into relative juxtaposition;
• e. means for comparing said pairs of patterns to yield a juxtaposition which provides for optimum material usage and severance of the patterns with a minimum of cutting steps;
• and
• f. means for converting the pattern into physical form onto a sheet of planar material.

A method for producing the customized patterns of the closed sides of a three dimensional product which can be fabricated from sheet material, such as a ventilating duct fitting, comprising the steps of:

• storing in memory means, information representative of the configurations of a group of basic types of the three dimensional product and two dimensional pattern types required for the construction of the closed sides of the product, each such pattern type having a specified geometry and at least one mathematical relationship relating selected basic dimensions of the product to the specified geometry, substantially all variations of the product being developable from said basic pattern types, said basic dimensions comprising the size of the open sides of the product and at least one dimension determining the spatial relationship of the open sides;
• entering input data including the type of the three dimensional product and said basic dimensions;
• generating, without operator interaction and decision-making, from said basic dimensional data and three dimensional product type data, the pattern of each of the closed sides of the product, each of said patterns developed from selected ones of said basic pattern types in response to said input dimensional and product type data;
• positioning each developed pattern in related positions with other developed patterns to generate a series of positionings without operator interaction and decision-making;
• determining which of said positionings yields a minimum surface area so as to provide for optimum material usage without operator interaction and decision-making and generating digital data representing said optimum positioning;
• supplying the digital data representing said optimum positioning to an X-Y plotting table, said data including digital data representing the starting point for each pattern in X-Y format and sequential digital data in X-Y format representing the contour of each pattern;
• and
• plotting said patterns in accordance with said digital data on a sheet of material on said plotting table.

Apparatus for producing the customized patterns of the closed sides of a three dimensional product which can be fabricated from sheet material, such as a ventilating duct fitting, comprising:

• memory means for storing information representative of the configurations of a group of basic types of the three dimensional product and two dimensional pattern types required for the construction of the closed sides of the product, each such pattern type having a specified geometry and at least one mathematical relationship relating selected basic dimensions of the product to the specified geometry, substantially all variations of the product being developable from said basic pattern types, said basic dimensions comprising the size of the open sides of the product and at least one dimension determining the spatial relationship of the open sides;
• means for entering input data including the type of the three dimensional product and said basic dimensions;
• means for generating, without operator interaction and decision making, from said basic dimensional data and three dimensional product type data, the pattern of each of the closed sides of the product, each of said patterns developed from selected ones of said basic pattern types in response to said input dimensional and product type data;
• means for positioning each developed pattern in related positions with other developed patterns to generate a series of positionings without operator interaction and decision-making;
• means for determining which of said positionings yields a minimum surface area so as to provide for optimum material usage without operator interaction and decision-making and means for generating digital data representing said optimum positioning;
• means for supplying the digital data representing said optimum positioning to an X-Y plotting table, said data including digital data representing the starting point for each pattern in X-Y format and sequential digital data in X-Y format representing the contour of each pattern;
• and
• means for plotting said patterns in accordance with said digital data on a sheet of material on said plotting table.

A method for producing the customized patterns of the closed sides of a three-dimensional product which can be fabricated from sheet material, such as a ventilating duct fitting, comprising the steps of:

• storing information representative of the configurations of a group of basic types of the three dimensional product and two dimensional pattern types required for the construction of the closed sides of the product, each such pattern type having a specified geometry and at least one mathematical relationship relating selected basic dimensions of the product to the specified geometry, substantially all variations of the product being developable from said basic pattern types, said basic dimensions comprising the size of the open sides of the product and at least one dimension determining the spatial relationship of the open sides;
• entering input data including said basic dimensions and data associated with a selection of a two-dimensional pattern type associated with the product;
• generating, without operator interaction and decision-making, from said basic dimensions and data associated with the two-dimensional pattern type, the pattern of each of the closed sides of the product, each of said patterns developed from selected ones of said basic pattern types in response to said basic dimensions and data associated with the pattern type;
• positioning each developed pattern in related positions with other developed patterns to generate a series of positionings without operator interaction and decision-making;
• determining which of said positionings yields a minimum surface area so as to provide for optimum material usage without operator interaction and decision-making and generating digital data representing said optimum positioning;
• supplying the digital data representing said optimum positioning to a plotting table;
• and
• plotting said patterns in accordance with said digital data on a sheet of material on said plotting table.

Apparatus for producing the customized patterns of the closed sides of a three-dimensional product which can be fabricated from sheet material, such as a ventilating duct fitting, comprising:

• memory means for storing information representative of the configurations of a group of basic types of the three dimensional product and two-dimensional pattern types required for the construction of the closed sides of the product, each such pattern type having a specified geometry and at least one mathematical relationship relating selected basic dimensions of the product to the specified geometry, substantially all variations of the product being developable from said basic pattern types, said basic dimensions comprising the size of the open sides of the product and at least one dimension determining the spatial relationship of the open sides;
• means for entering input data including said basic dimensions and data associated with a selection of a two-dimensional pattern type associated with the product;
• means for generating, without operator interaction and decision-making, from said basic dimensions and data associated with the two-dimensional pattern type, the pattern of each of the closed sides of the product, each of said patterns developed from selected ones of said basic pattern types in response to said basic dimensions and data associated with the pattern type;
• means for positioning each developed pattern in related positions with other developed patterns to generate a series of positionings without operator interaction and decision-making;
• means for determining which of said positionings yields a minimum surface area so as to provide for optimum material usage without operator interaction and decision-making and means for generating digital data representing said optimum positioning;
• means for supplying the digital data representing said optimum positioning to a plotting table;
• and
• means for plotting said patterns in accordance with said digital data on a sheet of material on said plotting table.