460 results about "Water jet cutting" patented technology

Expandable surfaces made from sheet materials with slits distributed on the surface of sheet material where the surfaces expand by application of force along or/and across the surface of sheet material. The unexpanded surfaces are flat sheets, or closed surfaces like cylinders, spheres, tubes, or custom-designed organic shapes marked with pre-formed or post-formed slit designs. The expanded surfaces can be single units or modules which can be attached to one another through various means. The sheet materials range from hard surfaces like metals, to softer materials like papers and plastics, or pliable materials like fabrics, rubbers, synthetic surfaces or bio-surfaces. The slits are arranged in patterns ranging from periodic, non-periodic to irregular designs. The slits can be straight, bent, curved or irregularly shaped with even or uneven spacing. Slitting can be achieved by digital cutting or punching devices like laser-cutting, water-jet cutting, digital punching, automated dies, etc. or pre-formed when casting the sheet material. Force can be applied manually with tools or through the use of machines and special set-ups. Applications range from architectural surfaces, walls, ceilings, panel systems, structures and sculpture. On a smaller scale, applications include containers, packaging material, fabrics and human wear. On micro- to nano-scale, applications range from expandable surfaces for gauzes, band-aids, stent designs, skin grafts, semi-permeable membranes and micro-filters for various industries including purification of fluids and chemical substances.

The invention is directed to a pair of laparoscopic scissors, comprising a pair of blades connected at a pivot, each of the blades having a length, a tip portion, a body portion, an outer surface, an inner surface and a cutting edge, the cutting edge forming an angle with the outer surface along the length of the blade such that tension during a cutting operation at the tip portion is about the same as tension at the body portion during the cutting operation. The angle formed may be greater at the tip portion which continuously decreases over the length of the blade. The tip portion may have a first body thickness and the body portion may have a second body thickness different from the first body thickness. During the cutting operation, the blades progressively move over each other to provide a point contact along the cutting edges. The blades may be thickened in a number of locations and combinations including: (1) one blade could be thicker than the other to force the opposing blade to flex; (2) both blades could be thicker at the body portions to give more strength when cutting staples; (3) each blade could be thickened on one side or the other to stiffen certain locations; and (4) the tips of each blade could be thicker than the body portions to provide increased tension at the tips. In another aspect of the invention, a process of manufacturing the pair of scissors of the invention is disclosed, comprising the steps of form grinding the blades into a desired shape from a pre-hardened block of material, and sharpening the cutting edges of the blades. The blades may also be formed through other processes including wire EDM, laser cutting, waterjet cutting, machining, cast or metal injection molding, and other independent profile manufacturing processes. The manufacturing process of the invention is beneficial in that each profile can be accurately controlled, and the parts will be exact every time.

A cutting head of a waterjet cutting system is provided having an environment control device and a measurement device. The environment control device is positioned to act on a surface of a workpiece at least during a measurement operation to establish a measurement area on the surface of the workpiece substantially unobstructed by fluid. The measurement device is positioned to selectively obtain information from within the measurement area indicative of a position of the cutting head relative to the workpiece. A control system is further provided and operable to position the cutting head relative to the workpiece at a standoff distance based at least in part on the information indicative of the position of the cutting head relative to the workpiece obtained by the measurement device. A method of operating a waterjet cutting system is also provided.

This invention relates to apparatus and methods for z-axis control and collision detection and recovery for waterjet and abrasive-jet cutting systems. In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a linear rail, a slide member coupleable to a cutting head and slideably coupled to the linear rail, at least one actuator having a first end coupled to the slide member and a second end fixed with respect to the linear rail, a position sensor, and a controller. The actuator provides an adjustable support force that supports the weight of the cutting head, allowing the cutting head to be controllably positioned at a desired height above the workpiece. The actuator may include a pneumatic cylinder, or alternately, a linear motor. In another aspect, an apparatus includes a first mount member coupleable to a controllably positionable mounting surface of the waterjet cutting system, a second mount member coupleable to the cutting head and disengageably coupled to the first mount member, and a sensing circuit having a plurality of first conductive elements disposed on the first mount member and a plurality of second conductive elements disposed on the second mount member. In the event of a collision between the cutting head and an obstruction, the second mount member disengages from the first mount member to prevent breakage of the cutting head. Following the collision, the second mount member is quickly and easily re-engaged with the first mount member without time-consuming re-calibration. In one embodiment, re-engagement of the second end first mount members is automatically performed by a biasing member.

A waterjet system selectively produces fluid jets for water jet cutting or abrasive jets for abrasive-waterjet-cutting. The abrasive materials in the abrasive jet are determined based on the properties of the workpiece. The waterjet system includes an abrasive delivery system that is capable of delivering either a single abrasive or a plurality of abrasives as an abrasive blend, to a cutting head assembly. The cutting head assembly entrains the abrasive into a fluid jet to form an abrasive jet.

An apparatus for cutting stone which utilizes both a circular saw and a water jet. Both the saw and the water jet are mounted on a gantry, which moves along tracks. All the parts are under the control of the CNC device. The saw is used for straight cuts and curves where possible. The water jet, which is slower and more expensive to operate is only used where the saw cannot be used. The water jet is used to finish a saw cut to avoid any overtravel.

A system and method for improving a tool tip path of a machine, such as a waterjet cutting machine, by testing and compensating for tool misalignment. The system and method using a sensor positioned to sense a portion of the machine, such as a cutting head assembly, during a sequence of movements thereof and configured to output information indicative of various positions and orientations of a tool of the machine so as to generate an improved tool tip path based on transformation parameters derived from such information.

A catcher tank assembly is provided for a waterjet cutting machine. The catcher tank assembly includes a catcher tank having a plurality of tank sections detachably coupleable together in a side-by-side manner to collectively define a catcher tank having a desired configuration. The catcher tank assembly further includes a workpiece support system detachably coupleable to an interior cavity of the catcher tank. The workpiece support system may include a plurality of workpiece support modules arrangeable in an array to support a workpiece platform of the waterjet cutting machine. The workpiece platform may be formed, for example, by a series of slats supported transversely to parallel rows of the workpiece support modules. Methods and systems which relate to or include the aforementioned catcher tank assembly are also provided.

A waterjet cutting head assembly is provided which includes an orifice unit to generate a high-pressure waterjet, a nozzle body and a nozzle component coupled to the nozzle body with the orifice unit positioned therebetween. The nozzle component may include a waterjet passage, at least one jet alteration passage and at least one environment control passage. The jet alteration passage may intersect with the waterjet passage to enable selective alteration of the waterjet during operation via the introduction of a secondary fluid or application of a vacuum. The environment control passage may include one or more downstream portions aligned relative to the fluid jet passage so that gas passed through the environment control passage during operation is directed to impinge on an exposed surface of a workpiece at or adjacent to a location where the waterjet is cutting the workpiece. Other high-pressure waterjet cutting systems, components and related methods are also provided.

The invention provides a cutting muzzle and a mixing tube based on present abrasive water cutting muzzle. The invention has a mixing chamber inside the base of muzzle head and a conic part on the lower end of muzzle head; two guide surfaces on the cutting head to conform the axiality of muzzle body, muzzle head and base; and a taper locking device on the lower end of mixing tube. The invention can easily adjust the axiality of mixing tube and muzzle head to attain higher axiality. The invention has easy detachment of muzzle and mixing tube, lower cost which can save 10-20% power consumption, higher cutting efficiency, better quality, higher cutting speed, small kerf, and bigger cutting depth.

The invention discloses a numerical-control six-shaft intelligent water jet cutter. The numerical-control six-shaft intelligent water jet cutter comprises a water jet cutting platform composed of a side frame, a transverse beam and a water tank, an X-shaft transmission mechanism, a Y-shaft transmission mechanism, a Z-shaft transmission mechanism and a cutting head installed on a Z shaft, wherein the X-shaft transmission mechanism, the Y-shaft transmission mechanism and the Z-shaft transmission mechanism are installed on the water jet cutting platform. The cutting head is a cutting head with the A-shaft, B-shaft and C-shaft transmission combined rotation function, an A-shaft driven belt wheel installed on an A-shaft frame is driven by an A-shaft motor, a water jet nozzle is fixed to the A-shaft driven belt wheel, and the water jet nozzle and the A-shaft driven belt wheel synchronously rotate. A B-shaft motor drives the A-shaft frame through the B-shaft transmission mechanism to perform arc rotation. A C-shaft motor drives a B-shaft frame to rotate, and a C-shaft flange shaft is connected with a C-shaft frame fixed to the Z shaft. Under the control of a master programmable controller, an X shaft, a Y shaft, the Z shaft, an A shaft, a B shaft and a C shaft are linked to control the position and the direction of the water jet nozzle, the defect that a traditional water jet cutting device can not complete cutting at a time under some conditions is overcome, the cutting head posture adjustment time is shortened, the cutting accuracy and the cutting efficiency are improved, and the water jet cutting machining cost is reduced.

The invention relates to a method for manufacturing a composite fabric automobile roof, which is characterized by comprising the following process steps of: putting composite chloro fiber fabrics into an open-type fabric oven for heating; heating a roof base material in a heating oven; putting the heated composite chloro fiber fabrics on the roof base material and feeding into a die to press into a semi-finished product; putting the semi-finished product on a water jet cutting jig for cutting so as to cut oddments; blowing impurities on the surface of the semi-finished product completely and wiping oil stains on the surface by using alcohol to obtain a finished product. The method of the invention solves the problem of performance indexes such as flame retardance, stain resistance, easy cleaning and the like of the roof. Through a test, the surface of the automobile roof cannot be polluted.

A garnet settling/filtration system for use with a plurality of machine tools such as a water jet cutting machine is described. The garnet settling/filtration system comprises a settling tank, which utilizes a removable, disposable settling weir, which is received therein. The settling weir drops into the settling tank and provides an over-under flow system through which the garnet slurry must travel. As the flow of the slurry travels over and under the incorporated series of baffles, the garnet particulate settles out on the bottom of the liner. Once the liner has reached its maximum holding capacity, a series of incorporated, reinforced removal loops located near the top of the liner allow for the easy and quick removal of the liner and the settled-out particulate from the settling tank. The liner can then be discarded and a new one replaced in a matter of minutes, thereby reducing downtime of the machine.

The invention relates to a method for a MEMS wafer. The cutting method comprises the following steps of pasting a membrane on the front surface of the wafer to protect an MEMS structure; focusing a laser on the inner part of the wafer, irradiating to form a modified layer at a position from the front surface of the wafer to the inner part of the wafer; irradiating the laser to the back surface of the wafer at a position corresponding to that of the modified layer so as to form a mark groove on the back surface of the wafer; performing water jet cutting on the back surface of the wafer along the position of the mark groove but do not reach the bottom so as to form a water jet cutting groove from the back surface of the wafer to the inner part of the wafer, wherein one end far away from the back surface of the wafer of the water jet cutting groove is connected with the modified layer; and extending splits along the modified layer till to all the MEMS structures are separated completely from each other. The method for the MEMS wafer combines the advantages of laser irradiation and water jet cutting, and realizes the edge breakage-free and low-contamination cutting for the MEMS wafer.

The invention provides a cutting process offline coordination method of multi-beam type water jet cutting system. The method comprises the following steps: dividing a processing area of the multi-beam water cutting system; inputting a CAD (computer-aided design) file of a large workpiece to be cut, and decomposing and allocating the cutting contour accordingly to form the CAD sub-file of the cutting part of each beam system; importing each CAD sub-file into water cutting CAM (computer-aided manufacturing) software to generate an executable NC (numerical control) code file, and reading the NC code file to obtain a sequence of the cutting path of each beam system; calculating a time window executed by each path in each cutting sequence, and coordinating the time windows in an interference area so as to achieve the purpose of avoiding mutual interference between two adjacent beams; and writing the coordination result into the original NC code file, downloading the NC code file to a CNC (computer numerical controller) of each beam system, and executing the multi-beam water cutting process. According to the invention, smooth and non-interference execution of a parallel cutting processes of a water cutting system with more than three beams can be realized.

The invention relates to a waterjet cutter which is characterized in that the waterjet cutter comprises a front and back moving frame with a vertical guide rail, a left and right moving frame which is connected with the vertical guide rail and is provided with a transverse guide rail, a waterjet cutting head which is arranged on the transverse guide rail in a left and right moving way and a workpiece bearing platform which is arranged under the waterjet cutting head. A support base comprises an inner support base and an external support base. Two ends of the inner support base are wrapping edges for wrapping the back front end and the bottom front end of the left and right moving frame. The external support base comprises a sloping plate and a turned-over edge which is arranged on the two ends of the sloping plate and turns inwards along the wrapping edges on the two ends of the inner support base. A protective cover plate is arranged between the inner support base and the external support base. The protective cover plate comprises a sloping cover plate, a turned-over edge angle plate which is arranged on the upper end of the sloping cover plate and a turned-over edge flat slab which is arranged on the lower end of the sloping cover plate. Compared with the prior art, the waterjet cutter has the advantages that back-washing water and sands during the workpiece processing can be prevented from polluting the guide rails, the swing amplitude of a waterjet cutting spray-head is small so that the mechanical processed workpiece precision cannot be influenced.