Flatbed Cutter Assembly Bridge-Free Cutting Method
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing flatbed cutter assemblies face challenges in cutting rigid media without chipping printed marking material and aligning front and back images, especially when using bridges, which either result in material loss or time-consuming alignment processes.
Innovation Solution
A flatbed cutter assembly with a controller that cuts through the medium from front to back along a cut path, except for partial bridges, and then reverses the process after flipping the medium, cutting less than half its thickness at bridge locations to maintain alignment and prevent material chipping.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the recording medium is cut through from front to back along the cut path, then the cutting process is simple and fast, but the printed marking material chips off during cutting
Solution Approach 1:
The cutting process is divided into multiple stages: first cutting from the front side to a depth less than half the thickness, then flipping the medium, and completing the cut from the back side. This segmentation allows the cut to proceed without chipping marking material while maintaining overall cutting efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The front side cut is performed as a preliminary action before flipping the medium. This initial cut creates a guide groove that prevents marking material chipping during the subsequent back side cut, while still allowing relatively fast cutting compared to other methods.
2Ease of operation
If bridges are used to hold front and back images together for alignment, then alignment is easy, but printed marking material chips near the bridges when the piece is extracted
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful effect of bridge-induced chipping is eliminated by removing the traditional bridge structure entirely. Instead, the method uses partial cuts through the medium that eliminate the need for bridges, thereby preventing marking material chipping while still allowing accurate alignment through the cut path itself.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the recording medium is cut first and then printed on both sides, then marking material chipping is avoided, but aligning front and back images becomes time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The cutting process is segmented into front side and back side operations with a flip in between, allowing printing to be performed on both sides while the medium remains aligned on the table. This eliminates time-consuming alignment operations while preventing marking material chipping through the controlled cutting depth approach.
Solution Approach 2:
The cut path itself serves as the alignment reference for both front and back printing operations. By maintaining the medium's position on the table during the flip and re-cutting process, the system uses the cutting mechanism itself to ensure alignment rather than requiring separate alignment operations.
4Stability of the object's composition
If partial bridges are used to hold the printed piece together during flipping, then alignment is maintained, but some cutting depth is required at bridge locations
Solution Approach 1:
The traditional bridge structure is completely removed and replaced with a flip-based approach. The medium is held stable during flipping by the partial front side cut and the table edge, eliminating the need for additional cutting at bridge locations and simplifying the overall process while maintaining printed piece integrity.
Data Source
AI summary
A flatbed cutter assembly includes a medium support table for supporting a recording medium, the table extending in a first direction and a second direction, the first direction being perpendicular to the second direction, a gantry arranged to be moveable over the medium support table in the first direction, a carriage support movably arranged on the gantry to move over the medium support table in the second direction, a cutter configured to be coupled to the carriage support and a controller for controlling the movements of the gantry, the carriage support and the cutter while moving over the medium support table. The controller is configured to cut through the recording medium from the front side to the back side along a cut path except for a plurality of bridges along the cut path, the recording medium intended to be printed on both front and back side of the recording medium, wherein parts of each bridge which are intended to be adjacent to printed images on the front and back side of the recording medium, are removed by the cutter.