Fluid jet cutting method and apparatus

A fluid jet cutting apparatus for cutting an object from a sheet, the object having a hole therein, comprising:

• a fluid jet head for directing a fluid jet stream against the sheet from which the object is to be cut by the fluid jet stream, the head being adapted to follow an outside edge path along the sheet to form an outside edge of the object and an inside edge path along the sheet to form an inside edge of the object that defines the hole, the sheet comprising a peripheral portion lying outwardly of the outside edge path, an object portion lying between the outside edge path and the inside edge path, and a hole portion lying inwardly of the inside edge path;
• a first support member having a central opening therein generally similar to and larger than the outside edge of the object and including a support surface for supporting the peripheral portion of the sheet;
• a second support member having a central opening therein generally similar to and larger than the inside edge of the object and including a support surface positioned inside the central opening of the first support member for supporting the object portion of the sheet, the second support member comprising a vacuum port for pulling the object portion of the sheet against the support surface of the second support member;
• and
• a third support member including a support surface positioned inside the central opening of the second support member for supporting the hole portion of the sheet.

A method for cutting an annular disk substrate from a sheet using a fluid jet cutting apparatus, comprising the steps of:

• supporting a peripheral portion of the sheet on a support surface of a first support member, the first support member having a central opening therein generally similar to and larger than an outside edge of the disk substrate to be cut from the sheet;
• supporting an annular portion of the sheet on a support surface of a second support member positioned inside the central opening of the first support member, the second support member having a central opening therein generally similar to and larger than an inside edge of the disk substrate to be cut from the sheet;
• supporting a hole portion of the sheet on a support surface of a third support member positioned inside the central opening of the second support member;
• pulling the annular portion of the sheet against the support surface of the second support member using a vacuum port in the second support member;
• and
• directing a fluid jet stream against the sheet using a fluid jet head adapted to follow an outside edge path along the sheet to form the outside edge of the disk substrate and an inside edge path along the sheet to form the inside edge of the disk substrate, wherein the peripheral portion of the sheet lies outwardly of the outside edge path, the annular portion of the sheet lies between the outside edge path and the inside edge path, and the hole portion of the sheet lies inwardly of the inside edge path.

A method for cutting an object having a hole from a sheet using a fluid jet cutting apparatus, comprising the steps of:

• supporting a peripheral portion of the sheet on a support surface of a first support member, the first support member having a central opening therein generally similar to and larger than an outside edge of the object to be cut from the sheet;
• supporting an object portion of the sheet on a support surface of a second support member positioned inside the central opening of the first support member, the second support member having a central opening therein generally similar to and larger than an inside edge of the object to be cut from the sheet;
• supporting a hole portion of the sheet on a support surface of a third support member positioned inside the central opening of the second support member;
• pulling the object portion of the sheet against the support surface of the second support member using a vacuum port in the second support member;
• and
• directing a fluid jet stream against the sheet using a fluid jet head adapted to follow an outside edge path along the sheet to form the outside edge of the object and an inside edge path along the sheet to form the inside edge of the object, wherein the peripheral portion of the sheet lies outwardly of the outside edge path, the object portion of the sheet lies between the outside edge path and the inside edge path, and the hole portion of the sheet lies inwardly of the inside edge path.

A method for cutting a plurality of disk substrates from a sheet using a fluid jet cutting apparatus, wherein the sheet is selectable from a first size and a second size, the second size being larger than the first size, comprising the steps of:

• providing a support member having a plurality of central openings therein generally similar to and larger than an outside edge of each of the disk substrates to be cut from the sheet and including a support surface for supporting a portion of the sheet, the central openings in the support member are arranged in nested rows each having a plurality of the central openings, wherein the support member has an edge that is scalloped in accordance with the arrangement of adjacent central openings for matingly receiving a correspondingly scalloped edge of an additional support member;
• if the sheet having the first size is selected, supporting the sheet on the support member;
• if the sheet having the second size is selected, providing the additional support member, positioning the scalloped edge of the additional support member in a mating relationship with the scalloped edge of the support member, and supporting the sheet on the support member and the additional support member;
• and
• directing a fluid jet stream against the sheet using a fluid jet head adapted to follow a path along the sheet to form the outside edge of each of the disk substrates.

A method for cutting a plurality of objects from a sheet using a fluid jet cutting apparatus, wherein the sheet is selectable from a first size and a second size, the second size being larger than the first size, comprising the steps of:

• providing a support member having a plurality of central openings therein generally similar to and larger than an outside edge of each of the objects to be cut from the sheet and including a support surface for supporting a portion of the sheet, the central openings in the support member are arranged in nested rows each having a plurality of the central openings, wherein the support member has an edge that is scalloped in accordance with the arrangement of adjacent central openings for matingly receiving a correspondingly scalloped edge of an additional support member;
• if the sheet having the first size is selected, supporting the sheet on the support member;
• if the sheet having the second size is selected, providing the additional support member, positioning the scalloped edge of the additional support member in a mating relationship with the scalloped edge of the support member, and supporting the sheet on the support member and the additional support member;
• and
• directing a fluid jet stream against the sheet using a fluid jet head adapted to follow a path along the sheet to form the outside edge of each of the objects.

A method for cutting a plurality of disk substrates from a sheet using a fluid jet cutting apparatus, comprising the steps of:

• providing a support member having at least one central opening therein generally similar to and larger than an outside edge of the disk substrates to be cut from the sheet and including a support surface for supporting a portion of the sheet;
• adhering a plurality of layers to one another in a stacked relationship to form the sheet;
• supporting the sheet on the support member;
• cutting through each of the layers of the sheet by directing a fluid jet stream against the sheet using a fluid jet head adapted to follow a path along the sheet to form the outside edge of the disk substrates;
• and
• separating the disk substrates from one another.

A method for cutting a plurality of objects from a sheet using a fluid jet cutting apparatus, comprising the steps of:

• providing a support member having at least one central opening therein generally similar to and larger than an outside edge of the objects to be cut from the sheet and including a support surface for supporting a portion of the sheet;
• adhering a plurality of layers to one another in a stacked relationship to form the sheet;
• supporting the sheet on the support member;
• cutting through each of the layers of the sheet by directing a fluid jet stream against the sheet using a fluid jet head adapted to follow a path along the sheet to form the outside edge of the objects;
• and
• separating the objects from one another.

A method for cutting a disk substrate from a sheet using a fluid jet cutting apparatus, comprising the steps of:

• providing a sheet comprising a substrate layer and a protective layer covering a portion of at least one surface of the substrate layer;
• providing a support member having at least one central opening therein generally similar to and larger than an outside edge of the disk substrate to be cut from the sheet and including a support surface for supporting a portion of the sheet;
• supporting the sheet on the support member;
• cutting through the sheet by directing a fluid jet stream against the sheet using a fluid jet head adapted to follow a path along the sheet to form the outside edge of the disk substrate;
• and
• removing the protective layer from the substrate layer after forming the outside edge of the disk substrate.

A method for cutting an object from a sheet using a fluid jet cutting apparatus, comprising the steps of:

• providing a sheet comprising an object layer and a protective layer covering a portion of at least one surface of the object layer;
• providing a support member having at least one central opening therein generally similar to and larger than an outside edge of the object to be cut from the sheet and including a support surface for supporting a portion of the sheet;
• supporting the sheet on the support member;
• cutting through the sheet by directing a fluid jet stream against the sheet using a fluid jet head adapted to follow a path along the sheet to form the outside edge of the object;
• and
• removing the protective layer from the object layer after forming the outside edge of the object.