Generating optimized tool paths and machine commands for beam cutting tools
View Patent ↗A facility for automated modelling of the cutting process for a particular material to be cut by a beam cutting tool, such as a waterjet cutting system, from empirical data to predict aspects of the waterjet's effect on the workpiece across a range of material thicknesses, across a range of cutting geometries, and across a range of cutting quality levels, all of which may be broader than, and independent of the actual requirements for a target workpiece, is described.
1. A computer-readable medium having contents configured to cause a computing system to perform a method for processing a routed geometry for a waterjet cutting project, the method comprising:
receiving the routed geometry, the routed geometry including information specifying portions of the geometry for which a waterjet is on and portions of the geometry for which the waterjet is off;
decomposing at least part of the routed geometry into a plurality of segments, each segment comprising a sequence of one or more complete portions for which the waterjet is on; and
causing a plurality of processing units to process the plurality of segments, wherein each distinct processing unit processes a different segment to generate machine control signals configured to control a cutting tool for the segment.
2. The computer-readable medium of claim 1 wherein each of the segments comprises a single complete portion for which the waterjet is on.
3. The computer-readable medium of claim 1 , wherein each distinct processing unit further processes a different segment to determine at least one of a cutting speed or tilting angle of the cutting tool.
4. The computer-readable medium of claim 3 wherein each different processing unit is a different processing core.
5. The computer-readable medium of claim 3 wherein each different processing unit is a different processor.
6. The computer-readable medium of claim 3 wherein each different processing unit is a different network node.
7. The computer-readable medium of claim 3 wherein each different processing unit is a different virtual machine.
8. The computer-readable medium of claim 3 , wherein the method further comprises merging the machine control signals generated for the plurality of segments.
9. A method for processing a routed geometry for a waterjet cutting project, the method comprising:
receiving the routed geometry, the routed geometry including portions of the geometry for which a waterjet is configured to correspond to a first state and portions of the geometry for which the waterjet is configured to correspond to a second state;
decomposing at least part of the routed geometry into a plurality of segments, each segment comprising a sequence of one or more portions for which the waterjet is configured to correspond to the first state; and
causing a plurality of processing units to process the plurality of segments, wherein each distinct processing unit processes a different segment to generate machine control signals configured to control a cutting tool for the segment.
10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the waterjet is performing cutting in the first state.
11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the cutting tool of the waterjet is traversing in the second state.
12. The method of claim 9 , wherein each distinct processing unit further processes a different segment to determine at least one of a cutting speed or tilting angle of the cutting tool.
13. The method of claim 9 , wherein each distinct processing unit processes a different segment based on at least one of a cutting model, a geometry of an expected part, or a definition of quality or constraint.
14. The method of claim 9 , wherein the plurality of processing units process the plurality of segments in parallel.
15. The method of claim 9 , further comprising determining a processing expense based on at least one of cutting length, cost savings, or processing time.
16. The method of claim 9 , wherein the method is performed when the waterjet already started cutting for the cutting project.
17. The method of claim 9 , further comprising merging the machine control signals generated for the plurality of segments.
18. A system, comprising:
one or more processors; and
memory storing contents configured to cause the one or more processors to perform actions including:
receiving a routed geometry for a waterjet cutting project, the routed geometry including portions of the geometry for which a waterjet is configured to correspond to a first state and portions of the geometry for which the waterjet is configured to correspond to a second state;
decomposing at least part of the routed geometry into a plurality of segments, each segment comprising a sequence of one or more portions for which the waterjet is configured to correspond to the first state; and
causing a plurality of processing units to process the plurality of segments, wherein each distinct processing unit processes a different segment to generate machine control signals configured to control a cutting tool for the segment.
19. The system of claim 18 , wherein the system further comprises the plurality of processing units.
20. The system of claim 18 , wherein the plurality of processing units include at least one of a processing core, a processor, a network node, or a virtual machine.