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US 9,625,897 B2Granted
Method and system for testing a machine tool
AssigneeDelcam Limited
InventorsStephen William Mackman, William del Strother, Steven Michael Hobbs
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method to control a material remover can include generating a test path to be processed by the processing circuitry to cause the material remover of the machine tool to move along a predetermined path; causing the processing circuitry to execute the test path and move the material remover along the test path; timing at least one of the performance of the processing circuitry and the movement of the material remover along the test path to generate machine tool timings; and using the machine tool timings to set limits which are arranged to subsequently be used when cutting paths are generated for the machine tool for which the test path has been generated.
Claims18
A method of testing a machine tool comprising processing circuitry arranged to control a material remover, in which the method comprises:
- a) generating a test path to be processed by the processing circuitry to cause the material remover of the machine tool to move along a predetermined path, wherein the test path comprises at least one closed test path having a set shape and set size;
- b) causing the processing circuitry to execute the test path and move the material remover along the test path;
- c) in a first portion of the test path execution, causing the material remover to execute the at least one closed test path having the set shape and set size a single time, and in a second portion of the test path execution, occurring after the first portion of the test path execution, causing the material remover to execute a plurality of times the at least one closed test path having the set shape and set size that was executed in the first portion, wherein the material remover executes the second portion of the test path execution from a moving start;
- d) while the processing circuit is executing the test path, obtaining machine tool timings using the movement of the material remover along the test path, including determining an average time for executing the closed test path at a constant feed rate, wherein determining the average time comprises determining a total time required to complete both the first portion and the second portion, subtracting the time required to complete the first portion from the total time, and dividing the result of the subtracting by the number of times that the closed test path is executed in the second portion to obtain the average time;
- and
- e) setting machine tool parameters for the machine tool based on the machine tool timings from the test path to be subsequently used when cutting paths are generated for the machine tool, wherein the machine tool parameters comprise a minimum radius that the machine tool can be moved around.
3 more elements
A machine tool comprising a processing circuitry which is arranged to be programmed and a material remover arranged to be controlled by the processing circuitry, wherein the processing circuitry is arranged to perform the following:
- a) receive a test path arranged to cause the material remover of the machine tool to move along a predetermined path, wherein the test path comprises at least one closed test path having a set shape and set size;
- b) execute the test path and move the material remover along the test path, wherein executing the test path includes a first portion where the material remover executes the at least one closed test path having the set shape and set size a single time and a second portion, occurring after the first portion, where the material remover executes a plurality of times the at least one closed test path having the set shape and set size that was executed in the first portion, wherein the material remover executes the second portion of the test path execution from a moving start;
- c) while executing the test path, timing at least one of the performance of the processing circuitry and the movement of the material remover along the test path to generate machine tool timings, including determining an average time for executing the closed test path at a constant feed rate, wherein determining the average time comprises determining a total time required to complete both the first portion and the second portion, subtracting the time required to complete the first portion from the total time, and dividing the result of the subtracting by the number of times that the closed test path is executed in the second portion to obtain the average time;
- and
- d) set machine tool parameters for the machine tool based on the machine tool timings from the test path to be subsequently used when cutting paths are generated for the machine tool, wherein the machine tool parameters comprise a minimum radius that the machine tool can be moved around.
2 more elements
A non-transitory machine readable medium containing instructions to cause a processing circuitry to generate a test path for a material remover arranged to be controlled by a further processing circuitry of a machine tool, wherein the processing circuitry is arranged to:
- a) generate a test path arranged to cause the material remover of the machine tool to move along a predetermined path, wherein the test path comprises at least one closed test path having a set shape and set size;
- b) cause the processing circuitry to move a material remover along the test path;
- c) in a first portion of moving the material remover along the test path, cause the material remover to execute the at least one closed test path having the set shape and set size a single time, and in a second portion of moving the material remover along the test path occurring after the first portion, cause the material remover to execute a plurality of times the at least one closed test path having the set shape and set size that was executed in the first portion, wherein the material remover executes the second portion of the test path execution from a moving start;
- d) while the material remover is moving along the test path, obtain machine tool timings using the movement of the material remover along the test path, including determine an average time for executing the closed test path at a constant feed rate, wherein determining the average time comprises determining a total time required to complete both the first portion and the second portion, subtracting the time required to complete the first portion from the total time, and dividing the result of the subtracting by the number of times that the closed test path is executed in the second portion to obtain the average time;
- and
- e) set machine tool parameters for the machine tool based on the machine tool timings from the test path to be subsequently used when cutting paths are generated for the machine tool, wherein the machine tool parameters comprise a minimum radius that the machine tool can be moved around.
3 more elements
A method of generating a cutting path for a material remover of a machine tool, the machine tool comprising processing circuitry arranged to control a material remover of the machine tool and the method comprising:
- a) generating a test path to be processed by the processing circuitry to cause the material remover of the machine tool to move along a predetermined path, wherein the test path comprises at least one closed test path having a set shape and set size;
- b) causing the processing circuitry to execute the test path and move the material remover along the test path;
- c) in a first portion of the test path execution, causing the material remover to execute the at least one closed test path having the set shape and set size a single time, and in a second portion the test path execution, occurring after the first portion of the test path execution, causing the material remover to execute a plurality of times the at least one closed test path having the set shape and set size that was executed in the first portion, wherein the material remover executes the second portion of the test path execution from a moving start;
- d) while the processing circuit is executing the test path, obtaining machine tool timings using the movement of the material remover along the test path, including determining an average time for executing the closed test path at a constant feed rate, wherein determining the average time comprises determining a total time required to complete both the first portion and the second portion, subtracting the time required to complete the first portion from the total time, and dividing the result of the subtracting by the number of times that the closed test path is executed in the second portion to obtain the average time;
- e) setting machine tool parameters for the machine tool based on the machine tool timings from the test path to be subsequently used when cutting paths are generated for the machine tool, wherein the machine tool parameters comprise a minimum radius that the machine tool can be moved around;
- and
- f) generating the cutting path using the limits from step e.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.