Glass optimization

Apparatus for optimizing the fabricating of products that include lites cut from a plurality of glass sheets comprising:

• a) a cutting station including a moveable cutting head supported for movement with respect to a glass sheet positioned with respect to the cutting head from which glass lites are cut;
• b) a plurality of storage units positioned with respect to the cutting station for storing lites as they are cut from sheets of glass by the cutting head;
• c) a controller and/or ancillary computer including a programmable device for:
• i) defining a plurality of batches wherein each batch requires a specified number, size and type of glass lites for use in fabricating doors and windows in a job;
• ii) laying out a a first set of lites to be cut from a first set of glass sheets to fulfill the lite requirements for one batch in said plurality of batches;
• iii) identifying one or more underutilized glass sheets in the first set of glass sheets having free space with no lites designated to be cut in the one batch;
• iv) laying out a pattern of one or more lookahead lites to be cut to fulfill the lite requirements of one or more additional batches in said plurality of batches by utilizing at least some of the free space on the underutilized glass sheets of the first set of glass sheets and designating other glass sheets from which to cut other lites in said one or more additional batches;
• v) controlling the cutting head to cut out the first set of lites and the one or more lookahead lites from the first set of glass sheets;
• and
• vi) instructing an operator regarding placement of the first set of lites and the lookahead lites into appropriate storage units positioned with respect to the automated cutting apparatus.

An automated control system for a glass cutting station for use in cutting glass lites from a plurality of standard size glass sheets moved to the cutting station comprising:

• a programmable controller for:
• a) defining a plurality of batches wherein each batch requires a specified number, size and type of glass lites for use in fabricating doors or windows in said batches;
• b) laying out a pattern of lites to be cut from a first set of standard size glass sheets to fulfill the lite requirements for one batch in said plurality of batches;
• c) identifying one or more underutilized glass sheets in the first set of standard size glass sheets having free space with no lites designated to be cut in the first batch;
• and
• d) laying out a pattern of one or more lookahead lites to be cut to fulfill the lite requirements of one or more additional batches in said plurality of batches by utilizing at least some of the free space on the underutilized glass sheets of the first set;
• and
• e) designating other glass sheets not in said first set of standard size glass sheets from which to cut other lites in said one or more additional batches.

A computer readable medium for storing computer executable instructions for use in optimizing the fabrication of windows or doors that include lites cut from a plurality of glass sheets, said medium comprising instructions for:

• defining a plurality of production batches wherein each production batch requires a specified number, size and type of glass lites for use in fabricating doors or windows in said production batch;
• laying out a pattern of a first set of lites to be cut from a first set of glass sheets to fulfill the lite requirements for one production batch in said plurality of production batches;
• identifying one or more underutilized glass sheets in the first set of glass sheets having free space with no lites in said first set of lites designated to be cut in for fabricating doors or windows in the one production batch;
• laying out a pattern of an additional set of one or more lookahead lites to be cut from the free space on the first set of glass sheets to fulfill the lite requirements of one or more additional production batches in said plurality of production batches by utilizing at least some of the free space on the underutilized glass sheets of the first set of glass sheets for lookahead lites and designating other glass sheets not in said first set of sheets from which to cut other lites in said additional production batches;
• and
• cutting out the first set of lites and lookahead lites from glass sheets of said first set of sheets with an automated cutting apparatus.