CAD/CAM apparatus for enhancing operator entry of machining attributes and geometric shapes

A CAD/CAM apparatus in which an operator enters information identifying a machining geometric shape formed from a plurality of geometric elements and information identifying machining attributes corresponding to said geometric elements, said geometric shape including base and auxiliary planes defined by said elements, said elements including straight line portions with corner arcs therebetween, and said apparatus generating NC data based on said shape and attribute information, comprising:

• geometric shape input means for inputting the machining geometric shape;
• geometric shape display means for displaying the machining geometric shape;
• attribute type specification means for specifying a machining attribute type;
• element selection means for selecting a geometric element from said plurality of geometric elements that corresponds to the specified machining attribute type;
• attribute value input means for entering values for the specified machining attribute type, wherein said attribute value is automatically assigned to said selected element and at least one other element, said attribute value input means determining how many elements besides the selected element are assigned said attribute value based on the attribute type, said attribute value input means further comprising:
• means for inputting a value of a first corner radius of the base plane directly with a numerical value, and
• means for specifying a corner arc corresponding to said first corner radius by using a mouse, said attribute input means automatically calculating and assigning a second corner radius to a corresponding second corner arc of said auxiliary plane based on said first corner radius and a taper angle, whereby attribute values for corner arcs constitute radii;
• information storage means for storing the entered attribute type and value information associated with a corresponding geometric element and the geometric shape information;
• attribute information display means for displaying the entered attribute type and value information at a position of the selected geometric element;
• NC data generation means for generating NC data corresponding to the entered geometric shape and attribute information;
• and
• machining path display means for displaying a machining path corresponding to the generated NC data.

A CAD/CAM apparatus in which an operator enters information identifying a machining geometric shape formed from a plurality of geometric elements and information identifying machining attributes corresponding to said geometric elements, said apparatus generating NC data based on said shape and attribute information, comprising:

• geometric shape input means for inputting the machining geometric shape;
• geometric shape display means for displaying the machining geometric shape;
• attribute type specification means for specifying a machining attribute type;
• element selection means for selecting a geometric element from said plurality of geometric elements that corresponds to the specified machining attribute type;
• attribute value input means for entering values for the specified machining attribute type, wherein said attribute value is automatically assigned to said selected element and at least one other element, said attribute value input means determining how many elements besides the selected element are assigned said attribute value based on the attribute type, such that, when inputting machining attributes of a geometric shape, which is formed out of geometric elements continuously connected to one another by holding an endpoint of the one geometric element in common with that of another, the following instructions are performed in any sequence:
• taper angle inputting, corner R's specification for both upper and lower planes, specification for different upper and lower planes, and corner processing instructions;
• information storage means for storing the entered attribute type and value information associated with a corresponding geometric element and the geometric shape information;
• attribute information display means for displaying the entered attribute type and value information at a position of the selected geometric element;
• NC data generation means for generating NC data corresponding to the entered geometric shape and attribute information;
• and
• machining path display means for displaying a machining path corresponding to the generated NC data.

A CAD/CAM apparatus in which an operator enters information identifying a machining geometric shape formed from a plurality of geometric elements and information identifying machining attributes corresponding to said geometric elements, said apparatus generating NC data based on said shape and attribute information, said geometric shape includes upper and lower planes having different shapes, said upper and lower shapes being formed from first and second groups of elements, respectively, comprising:

• geometric shape input means for inputting the machining geometric shape;
• geometric shape display means for displaying the machining geometric shape;
• attribute type specification means for specifying a machining attribute type;
• element selection means for selecting a geometric element from said plurality of geometric elements that corresponds to the specified machining attribute type;
• attribute value input means for entering values for the specified machining attribute type, wherein said attribute value is automatically assigned to said selected element and at least one other element, said attribute value input means determining how many elements besides the selected element are assigned said attribute value based on the attribute type;
• information storage means for storing the entered attribute type and value information associated with a corresponding geometric element and the geometric shape information;
• attribute information display means for displaying the entered attribute type and value information at a position of the selected geometric element;
• NC data generation means for generating NC data corresponding to the entered geometric shape and attribute information;
• and
• machining path display means for displaying a machining path corresponding to the generated NC data, said element selection means comprising:
• first means for separately specifying each element in the upper and lower shapes, when the first and second groups contain no common elements, by separately assigning each geometric element and
• second means for specifying different elements in the upper and lower shapes, when the first and second groups contain some common elements, by selecting different attribute types and different elements for said upper and lower planes, said second means automatically forming and attaching coordinate information to said specified element by tracing said specified element from a first endpoint to a second endpoint, said second endpoint being in contact with an endpoint of an element common to the upper and lower planes.