Tilted Water-Jet Cutting Head for Corner Accuracy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing water jet cutting technologies face inaccuracies due to angular errors and the need for corrective movements when cutting around corners, leading to inefficiencies and imprecise cutting edges.
Innovation Solution
A device with a cutting head and a measuring device equipped with a force-controlled scanner, allowing precise distance detection and adjustment, and a rotatable holder with a drive system that maintains the cutting head's orientation, minimizing angular errors and maintaining precise cutting edge alignment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the cutting head is rotated about the axis of rotation to cut around corners, then the cutting head can follow complex contours, but the entry point of the water jet on the workpiece surface is shifted requiring additional corrective movements
Solution Approach 1:
The cutting head is tilted at a specific angle (e.g., 45 degrees) relative to the rotation axis, adding an angular dimension to the rotation mechanism. This dimensional change allows the water jet entry point to remain stationary on the workpiece surface while the cutting head rotates, eliminating the need for corrective movements and enabling precise cutting around corners.
2Productivity
If the feed speed is increased to improve productivity, then processing efficiency increases, but angular errors occur causing tapered cutting edges
Solution Approach 1:
A measuring device with a scanner detects the distance between the cutting head and workpiece surface in real-time. This feedback information is used by the control system to dynamically adjust the cutting head position and orientation, compensating for angular errors that occur at high feed speeds and maintaining precise cutting edge accuracy throughout the cutting process.
Solution Approach 2:
The cutting head is mounted on a rotatable holder with multiple pivot axes, making it dynamically adjustable during the cutting process. This dynamic capability allows the cutting head orientation to be continuously optimized to compensate for feed speed variations and maintain perpendicular cutting edges even at high productivity levels.
3Measurement precision
If a scanner is placed on the cutting head to detect distance, then position detection is enabled, but the distance can only be determined precisely to a limited extent resulting in inaccuracies
Solution Approach 1:
A force-controlled drive mechanism serves as an intermediary between the scanner and the cutting head. This intermediary actively controls the scanner's contact force with the workpiece surface, ensuring optimal measurement conditions and enhancing the precision of distance detection beyond what the scanner alone could achieve, thereby improving cutting accuracy.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a device for the water-jet cutting of a workpiece, comprising a cutting head (10) and a holder (11), which can be rotated about a rotational axis (24) and on which the cutting head (10) is held. A measuring apparatus (39) comprising a detector (44) for detecting the distance between the cutting head (10) and a workpiece surface of the workpiece is provided. The cutting head (10) has a cutting head axis (25) tilted at a specified angle (a) with reference to the rotational axis (24), wherein the intersection of the rotational axis (24) and the cutting head axis (25) lies at the same axial height with reference to the rotational axis (24) as the axial height of the workpiece surface detected by the detector (44). The invention further relates to a device for the water-jet cutting of a workpiece, comprising a cutting head (10) and a measuring apparatus (39), and to a method for the water-jet cutting of a workpiece.