Band saw apparatus and method with first cut input to controller
AssigneeHEM, Inc.
InventorMark P. Richards
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A band saw having a controller responsive to sensing signals as to operating parameters of the saw to generate a material distribution profile during a first cut of a piece of bar stock is disclosed. During subsequent cuts, the controller for the band saw operates control circuits for blade cutting force, blade feed rate and blade speed to maintain a desired, usually constant, material cutting rate of the bar stock, notwithstanding changes in bar stock cross section and changes in band saw geometry during the cut. A method is disclosed in which operating parameters are sensed, a distribution profile generated, and the profile employed during subsequent cuts to control the operating parameters for optimum cutting efficiency.
Claims30
A method of cutting of workpieces from bar stock of substantially uniform cross-section with a band saw having a saw blade comprising the steps of:
- sensing selected operating parameters of said band saw during cutting of a first cut of said bar stock, said operating parameters being selected to provide signal representing data sufficient to produce a material distribution profile for said bar stock;
- storing signals representing said data for said material distribution profile in storage means;
- and
- during cutting of a subsequent cut of said bar stock, employing said signals stored in said storage means to control operation of said band saw.
A method of cutting of workpieces with a band saw from a length of bar stock having a substantially uniform cross section along said length, comprising the steps of:
- during a first cut of said bar stock by a blade of said band saw, sensing operating parameters of said band saw selected to enable generation of a material distribution profile for said bar stock;
- generating a material distribution profile for said bar stock using the sensed operating parameters;
- and
- during a subsequent cut of said bar stock, employing said profile to vary a force applied by said blade to said bar stock during cutting while maintaining a rate of cutting and a speed of said blade substantially constant to cut said bar stock at a substantially constant cutting rate.
A method of production cutting of a plurality of workpieces from bar stock having a height dimension, a width dimension and a substantially uniform cross section along a length dimension, said method being accomplished by using a band saw having a movable saw blade and control means coupled to control a blade feed rate and a blade cutting force, said control means further including input means and data storage means;
- and sensing means coupled to said control means, said sensing means sensing blade position and at least one of blade feed rate and blade cutting force, said method comprising the steps of:
- storing a material signal in said data storage means identifying the material to be cut;
- storing material size signals in said data storage means indicating said height dimension and said width dimension of said bar stock;
- setting said blade feed rate and said blade cutting force on a first cut of said bar stock to produce a material cutting rate determined by a standard for cutting material identified for said bar stock and a rectangular cross section having said height dimension and said width dimension;
- during said first cut, sensing at least one of blade feed rate and blade cutting force and simultaneously sensing blade position;
- storing sensed signals in said data storage means indicating a material distribution profile for said bar stock based upon said sensing step during said first cut;
- and
- controlling at least one of said blade feed rate and said blade cutting force during a subsequent cut of said bar stock by employing said sensed signals and said material signal to produce cutting of said bar stock at a substantially constant material cutting rate throughout said subsequent cut.
In a band saw having a movable cutting blade assembly, control means coupled to control at least one of blade feed rate and blade cutting force and having data storage means, sensing means producing sensing signals as to blade position and at least one of blade feed rate and blade cutting force, and input means coupled to said control means for the input of input signals to said storage means, the improvement in said band saw comprising:
- said control means being responsive to said sensing signals and stored input signals during a first cut of a length of bar stock having a substantially uniform cross section along said length to store a material distribution profile for said bar stock in said data storage means, and
- said control means further being responsive to said sensing signals during a second cut of said bar stock to compare said sensing signals to said profile in said storage means and to control at least one of blade feed rate and blade cutting force to produce a substantially constant material cutting rate during said second cut.
In a band saw having a movable cutting blade assembly, control means coupled to control at least one of blade feed rate, and blade cutting force and having data storage means, sensing means producing sensing signals as to blade position and at least one of blade feed rate and blade cutting force, and input means coupled to said control means for input by one of an operator and said sensing means of input signals to said control means, the improvement in said band saw comprising:
- said control means being responsive to said sensing signals and said input signals during a first cut of a length of bar stock having a substantially uniform cross section to generate a material distribution profile for said bar stock and to store said profile in said data storage means, and
- said control means further being responsive to said sensing signals during a second cut of said bar stock to compare said sensing signals to said profile in said storage means and to vary said blade cutting force to produce a substantially constant material cutting rate during said second cut.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.