NC Cutting Nested Parts Eliminating Pierces
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional metal cutting technologies require individual starting holes or pierces for each part, which are time-consuming, wasteful, and damaging, especially when cutting multiple parts from a sheet or plate.
Innovation Solution
A numerically controlled machine and method that identifies contour lines to cut parts from a material block, creates diversion opportunities to remove material without repiercing, and resumes cutting along contour lines to optimize part separation without damaging the surrounding material or changing the part's geometry.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If individual pierces are created for each part, then cutting can be initiated for each part, but time consumption increases and material damage occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple individual pierces into a single shared pierce that serves multiple adjacent parts. By positioning the pierce at a location accessible to multiple parts and using a continuous cutting path that visits each part sequentially, the system eliminates the need for separate pierces for each part, thereby reducing time consumption while maintaining operational ease.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary positioning and path planning to enable a single pierce to serve multiple parts. The cutting path is pre-calculated to optimize the sequence of visiting each part from the shared pierce location, and parts are positioned in advance to facilitate this shared access approach, reducing the need for repeated pierce operations.
2Ease of operation
If individual pierces are created for each part, then each part can be cut independently, but material waste and damage increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple independent cutting operations into a unified process that shares a common pierce. By implementing a continuous cutting path that connects all parts through a single pierce location, the system eliminates redundant material removal associated with multiple pierces, thereby reducing material waste while maintaining the ability to cut each part independently through the optimized path sequence.
3Ease of manufacture
If traditional cutting paths are used, then cutting can be performed, but productivity decreases due to repeated pierces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a continuous cutting path that eliminates idle pierce operations between parts. The tool moves continuously along an optimized trajectory that visits each part sequentially from a shared pierce location, maintaining cutting action throughout the process. This continuous operation eliminates the start-stop nature of traditional pierce-based cutting, thereby significantly improving productivity while maintaining manufacturing ease.
4Adaptability or versatility
If multiple pierces are created, then all parts can be accessed for cutting, but the complexity of the cutting process increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the cutting process into discrete visited locations along a continuous path, where each segment corresponds to cutting a specific part. By dividing the overall cutting operation into these manageable segments that are sequentially executed from a shared pierce, the system maintains part accessibility while simplifying the overall process control compared to managing multiple independent pierce operations.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach reduces the need for individual pierces, minimizes material waste and damage, and allows for efficient cutting of multiple parts from a sheet by creating opportunities for edge start cutting, enabling faster and more precise separation without the need for manual separation or additional pierces.
Implementation Method 1
a cutting tool that moves along a programmed path to machine the workpiece and separate a plurality of parts from one another
Data Source
AI summary
This invention pertains to machinery and methods for cutting a workpiece utilizing a cutting tool into at least two parts having prescribed shapes from a metal plate comprising the steps of: identifying each of the parts by one or more contour lines; cutting a workpiece along one of the identifying contour lines into one of the parts; creating at least one path diversion, wherein the diversion has an associated bounded region or opportunity; cutting the workpiece along a contour line associated with the opportunity; resuming the cutting of the part along the identifying contour line with minimal damage to the part being cut; finishing the cutting of the part and then moving the cutting tool to the opportunity and then to an associated adjacent identifying contour line and then repeating the process until all parts have been manufactured.