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US 6,609,044 B1Granted
Method and apparatus for a cutting system for avoiding pre-cut features
AssigneeCincinnati Incorporated
InventorsThomas A. Basista, Scott Bockbrader
Life of this patent
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AssigneeCincinnati Incorporated
InventorsThomas A. Basista, Scott Bockbrader
Estimating the term…
An improved laser cutting apparatus is provided that optimizes the amount of time required to perform all of the required cuts in a piece of sheet material. The optimization minimizes the amount of rapid-travel movement of the laser head, and virtually eliminates all head-up/head-down movements of the laser head. In one embodiment, the present invention performs a method that accepts NC code that has already been created by a conventional software product produced by a CAD/CAM vendor, and analyzes that NC code to create an optimized part program. The NC code is broken down and analyzed as a series of individual shapes to be cut by the laser head. Once the required shapes are known, a “sweep” is made to determine how many cut-outs are in each “band” being analyzed across the surface of the sheet material to be cut. The number of bands and the types of sweep are varied to analyze different possibilities of rapid-travel distance while still eliminating all head-up/head-down movements of the laser head. The order in which the cut-outs are to be cut within a particular band is analyzed, and the placement and direction of the lead-in for each of the cut-outs are determined. Each “sweep-type” for multiple numbers of bands are investigated so as to calculate the rapid-travel distance for each of the possibilities, thereby determining the minimum rapid-travel distance possible for the particular series of cut-outs to be made on this sheet material.
A method of using a machine for cutting features in material, said machine having a cutting instrument, said cutting instrument undergoing cutting movements while cutting said features and non-cutting movements while traveling between said features and said cutting movements, said method comprising the steps of:
A method of using a machine for cutting features in material, said machine having a cutting instrument, said cutting instrument undergoing cutting movements while cutting said features and non-cutting movements while traveling between said features and said cutting movements, said method comprising the steps of:
A computer readable medium storing an application program that defines a method of using a machine for cutting features in material, said machine having a cutting instrument, said cutting instrument undergoing cutting movements while cutting said features and non-cutting movements while traveling between said features and said cutting movements, said method comprising the steps of:
A method as implemented on a computer in a machine tool system having a machine for cutting features in material, said machine having a cutting instrument, said cutting instrument undergoing cutting movements while cutting said features and non-cutting movements while traveling between said features and said cutting movements, said method comprising the steps of:
A method of using a machine to cut features in material, said machine having a cutting instrument, said cutting instrument undergoing cutting movements while cutting said features and non-cutting movements while traveling between said features and said cutting movements, said method comprising the steps of:
A computer readable medium storing an application program that defines a method of using a machine for cutting features in material, said machine having a cutting instrument, said cutting instrument undergoing cutting movements while cutting said features and non-cutting movements while traveling between said features and said cutting movements, said method comprising the steps of:
A method of using a machine to cut features in material, said machine having a cutting instrument, said cutting instrument undergoing cutting movements while cutting said features and non-cutting movements while traveling between said features and said cutting movements, said method comprising the steps of:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.