Method for cutting components out of panel-shaped workpieces

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for cutting components (18, 19) out of panel-shaped workpieces (10), wherein the cutting contours of the components (18, 19) are determined on the surface of the panel-shaped workpiece (10) and the components (18, 19) are then cut out along said contours in a cutting device, specified shapes and sizes of remaining panels (11, 13, 14) are separated from a remaining workpiece not required for cutting the components (18, 19) and are stored, thereby being sorted according to the shape and size thereof, and the remaining panels (11, 13, 14) are taken into consideration when calculating and positioning cutting contours of components (18, 19) to be subsequently produced and are fed back to the cutting device.

Description

[0001] Method for cutting components from sheet-shaped workpieces

[0002] Background of the invention

[0003] The invention relates to a method for cutting components from sheet-shaped workpieces, in which the cutting contours of the components are defined on the surface of the sheet-shaped workpiece and then the components are cut out along these contours in a cutting device.

[0004] When carrying out such processes, often not the entire workpiece surface is needed to produce the components for a production order. The remaining workpieces are currently either sorted out as waste and possibly sent for recycling, or they are manually fed back into the cutting device if they are large enough to be used for cutting another production order.

[0005] From DE 10 139 715 Al it is also known to store residual workpieces in an intermediate storage area when cutting glass plates, to save their size, number and storage location using computer support and to include them in the calculation of cutting patterns for a subsequent production order and to feed them back to the cutting device.

[0006] This known method has the disadvantage that a large number of data points must be stored for each remaining workpiece, and the intermediate storage area must be sufficiently large for the differently shaped remaining workpieces, which therefore can only be stored side by side. The loading and unloading of the remaining workpieces is also correspondingly complex. Object of the invention

[0007] The invention is based on the objective of making it easier to identify, temporarily store, and consider leftover pieces generated when cutting sheet-shaped workpieces for further production orders.

[0008] Description of the invention

[0009] This problem is solved according to the invention by a method for cutting components from sheet-shaped workpieces, in which the cutting contours of the components are defined on the surface of the sheet-shaped workpiece and the components are then cut out along these contours in a cutting device, characterized in that predetermined shapes and sizes of residual sheets are cut off from a residual workpiece not required for cutting the components and sorted and removed according to shape and size, and the residual sheets are taken into account when calculating and placing cutting contours of subsequently manufactured components and are fed back to the cutting device.

[0010] The dependent claims relate to preferred embodiments.

[0011] By defining and separating offcut sheets of known shape and size, these offcut sheets can be stored in a space-saving manner and without significant programming effort. Offcut sheets with the same properties can be stacked fully automatically in a storage device. Accessing an offcut sheet of a specific size, intended for processing another production order, is also straightforward, as any offcut sheet of that size made from the appropriate material can be used. Therefore, it is not necessary to individually record each offcut sheet with all its properties and its specific storage location. In addition to shape and size, the offcut sheets can be stored sorted by material, surface finish, batch, and / or the cutting technology used to separate the offcut sheet.

[0012] The shapes and sizes of the remaining tabletops can be individually specified or correspond to standard formats stored in a program memory.

[0013] Preferably, rectangular workpiece areas can be defined as remnant sheets. Rectangular remnant sheets are easy to store and handle. Furthermore, defining cutting contours of components on rectangular remnant sheets is simpler than on sheets of other shapes.

[0014] Preferably, the remnant sheets can be defined as a series of rectangles, with each series being formed by dividing, in particular by halving, the next larger remnant sheet. This dividing can be continued until a practical minimum size for the remnant sheets is reached. The remnant sheets formed in this way can be stored in a space-saving manner on a maximum of two storage pallets. Two smaller remnant sheets can be placed on top of a next larger remnant sheet, or four on top of a remnant sheet of the next larger size. This is possible at least if the remnant sheets are all made of the same material and have the same thickness.

[0015] Of course, the leftover sheets can also be stored according to other criteria. For example, leftover sheets of the same shape and size can be stacked and temporarily stored in a storage device. Leftover sheets made of different materials and / or thicknesses can be grouped together in one stack. The number and storage location of sorted leftover sheets can always be recorded and saved, so that the sheets can be accessed later for reuse.

[0016] The cutting contours of the components on the surface of the sheet-shaped workpiece can be defined such that areas of the workpiece not required for cutting the components correspond in shape and size to one or more of the predefined remnant sheets, preferably the largest possible remnant sheets. The cutting contours are usually defined with an eye toward optimal material utilization. However, if the areas of the workpiece not defined by cutting contours are intended to correspond to remnant sheets and / or if remnant sheets from previous machining operations are already available in stock, this principle of optimal material utilization can be deviated from, at least temporarily, when defining the cutting contours. Preferably, the cutting contours of the components on the surface of the sheet-shaped workpiece are defined in such a way that the total surface area of ​​all components and remnant sheets is maximized.This allows for optimal material utilization across multiple production orders. Alternatively or additionally, when defining the cutting contours, storage costs for leftover sheets can be minimized or at least factored in. In return, a larger overall material requirement can be accepted.

[0017] It is also possible to feed leftover sheets to the cutting device for cutting components with a higher priority than new sheet-shaped workpieces, in order to be able to remove the stored leftover sheets from the storage relatively quickly.

[0018] The remaining sheets can also be separated from the sheet-shaped workpiece before the components are cut. This is particularly advantageous if more cost-effective cutting methods can be used for separating the sheets than for cutting the components.

[0019] The invention further relates to a device for cutting components from sheet-shaped workpieces for carrying out a method according to the invention, comprising a cutting unit, a control device for calculating the positioning of the cutting contours of components on a sheet-shaped workpiece, and a feeding device for sheet-shaped workpieces, characterized in that a storage device for remnant sheets is provided, wherein the control device detects the size and number of remnant sheets in the storage device. Additionally, the control device can also detect and store further properties of the remnant sheets, such as their material and thickness.

[0020] The control system can be designed as a distributed control system. A distributed control system consists of several control units, with data being transferred between these units. For example, a first control unit can calculate the positioning of the cutting contours, while a second control unit can record the size and number of remaining panels in the storage system.

[0021] In a preferred embodiment of the device, a cutting station can be assigned to the feeding device. This cutting station separates the remaining sheets, as determined by the control unit, from the sheet-shaped workpiece before the feeding device transfers the workpiece to the cutting unit for cutting the components. The sheet-shaped workpiece can also be a remaining sheet from a previous production order. If such a cutting station is provided, it can employ more cost-effective cutting methods for separating the remaining sheets than the cutting unit does for manufacturing the components. For example, the cutting station can separate the remaining sheets from the workpiece by punching, shear cutting, plasma cutting, or waterjet cutting. If no such cutting station is provided, the remaining sheets can be separated and removed by the cutting unit before, during, or after cutting the components.

[0022] Furthermore, it is advantageous if the storage system includes at least one load carrier, in particular a storage pallet, onto which the leftover boards can be stacked and retrieved. Several such pallets can also be provided to allow sorting of the leftover boards not only by size but also by material and thickness. The loading and unloading of the leftover boards can be done either automatically or manually.

[0023] Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the description, the claims, and the drawings. According to the invention, the features mentioned above and those further elaborated can each be used individually or in any suitable combination. The embodiments shown and described are not to be understood as an exhaustive list, but rather serve as examples for illustrating the invention.

[0024] Detailed description of the invention and drawing

[0025] Fig. 1 shows a panel-shaped workpiece and its division into possible remaining panels;

[0026] Fig. 2 shows a first panel-shaped workpiece with cutting contours for components and recessed residual panels;

[0027] Fig. 3 shows a second panel-shaped workpiece with cutting contours for

[0028] Components and recessed remaining panels;

[0029] Fig. 4 shows a third panel-shaped workpiece with cutting contours for

[0030] Components and a recessed remaining panel.

[0031] Fig. 1 shows a sheet-shaped workpiece 10 and its possible division into remnant sheets 11 to 17, which can be left free and temporarily stored when defining cutting contours for components to be cut out, if a production order for the components does not require the use of the entire workpiece 10. In the example shown, the defined remnant sheets 11 to 17 form a series of rectangles, each created by halving the next larger remnant sheet. The largest remnant sheet 11 has half the area of ​​the sheet-shaped workpiece 10. Remnant sheet 12 is created by halving remnant sheet 11, and so on, until a smallest remnant sheet 17 is reached, which can still be usefully reused later for cutting further components. The division of the remnant sheets shown can also be used for arranging cut remnant sheets during storage, e.g., on a storage pallet.Figures 2 to 4 illustrate how cutting contours for various components 18, 19 can be defined on the sheet-shaped workpiece 10, so that unused areas of the workpiece 10 can be removed as residual sheets and later fed back into a cutting process.

[0032] In the example shown in Fig. 2, the cutting contours for components 18 and 19 are distributed on the workpiece 10 such that a total of three remnant sheets 11, 13, and 14 of different sizes remain. These remnant sheets 11, 13, and 14 can be temporarily stored sorted by size and later used for cutting another production order. Further sorting criteria for the remnant sheets can be their material and thickness. Dividing the workpiece area not required for cutting components 18 and 19 into three remnant sheets 11, 13, and 14 of predefined sizes simplifies the recording, temporary storage, and subsequent refeeding of this remnant area compared to temporarily storing the entire unused remnant area without such division. For this remnant area, the shape and size would have to be recorded, and a separate storage location would have to be provided. In contrast, the remnant sheets 11, 13, and 14 can be stacked with remnant sheets of the same size on common storage pallets.Furthermore, it is possible to separate the remaining sheets 11, 13, 14 from the workpiece before cutting the contours for components 18, 19. This can also be done in a feeding device for workpiece 10, provided it is equipped with a cutting station. Separating the remaining sheets 11, 13, 14 requires significantly less precision than cutting components 18, 19. Therefore, more cost-effective cutting methods can be used for separating the remaining sheets 11, 13, 14.

[0033] In the example shown in Fig. 3, the same production order for components 18, 19 is cut as in Fig. 2. However, here a remnant sheet size corresponding to remnant sheet 13 was defined as the minimum remnant sheet size. Thus, only two remnant sheets 11, 13 are cut off and temporarily stored. While this results in more material waste from workpiece 10, the storage costs for the remnant sheets 11, 13 can be reduced compared to the procedure in Fig. 2, since no storage location needs to be provided for smaller remnant sheets 14.

[0034] Fig. 4 shows a larger production order for components 18, 19. The cutting contours for the components 18, 19 were placed in one half of the sheet-shaped workpiece 10 in such a way that a remaining sheet 11 of half the size of the workpiece 10 can be cut off and temporarily stored.

Claims

Patent claims 1. Method for cutting components (18, 19) from sheet-shaped workpieces (10), in which the cutting contours of the components (18, 19) are defined on the surface of the sheet-shaped workpiece (10) and subsequently the components (18, 19) are cut out along these contours in a cutting device, characterized in that predetermined shapes and sizes of residual sheets (11 to 17) are cut off from a residual workpiece not required for cutting the components (18, 19) and sorted and removed, and the residual sheets (11 to 17) are taken into account when calculating and placing cutting contours of subsequently manufactured components (18, 19) and are fed back into the cutting device.

2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that rectangular workpiece areas are defined as residual panels (11 to 17).

3. Method according to claim 2, characterized in that a series of rectangles is defined as the remaining sheets (11 to 17), wherein the series is formed by dividing, preferably by halving, the next larger remaining sheet (11 to 17).

4. Method according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that residual panels (11 to 17) of the same shape and size are stacked and temporarily stored in a storage device.

5. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that residual sheets (11 to 17) of the same thickness and made of the same material are stacked and temporarily stored in a storage device.

6. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the remaining sheets (11 to 17) are separated from the sheet-shaped workpiece (10) before cutting the components (18, 19).

7. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cutting contours of the components (18, 19) are defined on the surface of the sheet-shaped workpiece (10) in such a way that areas of the workpiece (10) not required for cutting the components (18, 19) correspond in shape and size to one or more of the predefined residual sheets (11 to 17).

8. Method according to the preceding claim, characterized in that a summed area of ​​all components (18, 19) and remaining panels (11 to 17) is maximized.

9. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the number and storage location of sorted residual boards (11 to 17) are recorded and stored.

10. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that residual sheets (11 to 17) for cutting components (18, 19) are fed to the cutting device with a higher priority than new sheet-shaped workpieces (10).

11. Device for cutting components (18, 19) from sheet-shaped workpieces (10) for carrying out a method according to one of claims 1 to 10, comprising a cutting unit, a control device for calculating the positioning of the cutting contours of components (18, 19) on a sheet-shaped workpiece (10) and a feeding device for sheet-shaped workpieces (10), characterized in that a storage device for remaining sheets (11 to 17) is provided, wherein the The control unit records the size and number of remaining panels (11 to 17) in the storage facility.

12. Device according to claim 11, characterized in that a cutting station is assigned to the feeding device, which cuts off the remaining panels (11 to 17) determined by the control device from the panel-shaped workpiece (10) before the feeding device transfers the workpiece (10) to the cutting unit for cutting the components (18, 19).

13. Device according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that the storage device has at least one load carrier, in particular a storage pallet, onto which the remaining panels (11 to 17) can be placed and removed in stacks.

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