Beam tool pathing for 3D compound contours using machining path surfaces to maintain a single solid representation of objects

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10372109-B2
Application number	US-201514737104-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 11, 2015
Priority date	Jun 16, 2014
Publication date	Aug 6, 2019
Grant date	Aug 6, 2019

Abstract

Computer based methods, systems, and techniques for planning and generating machining paths for a tool that manufactures a three dimensional object having beveled or “compound” contours from a workpiece. A computer aided design (CAD)/computer aided manufacturing (CAM) system creates intermediate machining path surfaces that extend based on a CAD solid model representing the geometry of the object to be manufactured. The intermediate machining path surfaces extend to a shape that simulates a cutting beam (e.g., a waterjet, a laser beam, etc.) of the tool. For a flat workpiece, the machining path surfaces may extend from a top surface of the workpiece, which is a tool beam entrance surface, to a bottom surface of the workpiece, which is a tool beam exit surface. An operator is able to visualize the cuts to be made and the actual finished object geometry, without requiring the creation of multiple CAD solid models.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of operation in a computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) system to define a machining orientation for a tool to manufacture a three dimensional physical object from a workpiece, the object having one or more machining faces which are to be machined by the tool during manufacturing, the CAM system includes a display, at least one processor, at least one nontransitory processor-readable medium communicatively coupled to the at least one processor and which stores at least one of instructions or data executable by the at least one processor, the method comprising:
obtaining a computer aided-design (CAD) solid model of the physical object to be manufactured from at least one nontransitory processor-readable medium;
identifying a first bounding area;
identifying a second bounding area;
identifying one or more non-spanning machining faces of the CAD solid model, each of the one or more non-spanning machining faces having a first edge relatively proximate to the first bounding area and a second edge relatively proximate to the second bounding area, at least one of the first edge and the second edge spaced apart from the first bounding area and the second bounding area, respectively, such that each of the one or more non-spanning machining faces do not span between the first bounding area and the second bounding area;
creating an extended machining path CAM surface model that defines a machining orientation for the tool, the extended machining path CAM surface model logically associated with one or more non-spanning machining faces of the CAD solid model in at least one nontransitory processor-readable medium, the extended machining path CAM surface model including one or more extended machining path CAM surfaces each a representation of a respective one of the non-spanning machining faces of the CAD solid model, the extended machining path CAM surface model including a first extended surface edge relatively proximate to the first bounding area defining a beam entrance contour and a second extended surface edge relatively proximate to the second bounding area defining a beam exit contour; and
autonomously extending the extended machining path CAM surface model, by the at least one processor, by at least one of,
autonomously extending the first extended surface edge of the extended machining path CAM surface model toward the first bounding area when the first extended surface edge is spaced apart from the first bounding area; or
autonomously extending the second extended surface edge of the extended machining path CAM surface model toward the second bounding area when the second extended surface edge is spaced apart from the second bounding area,
wherein autonomously extending the extended machining path CAM surface model includes creating one or more virtual or intermediate machining path CAM surface that extends from the CAD solid model of the physical object to be manufactured and which thus represents geometry that is absent from the physical object to be manufactured.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
generating motion instructions or data that specify movement for the tool according to the extended machining path CAM surface model; and
storing the motion instructions or data in the nontransitory processor-readable medium.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:
receiving a selection of a positioning sequence for the motion instructions or data via a user interface of the CAM system; and
logically associating the positioning sequence with the motion instructions or data in at least one nontransitory processor-readable medium.

4. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:
sending the motion instructions or data to a controller associated with the tool.

5. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:
obtaining machining knowledge data stored in at least one nontransitory processor-readable medium, wherein at least a portion of the motion instructions or data are dependent upon the obtained machining knowledge data.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying a first bounding area includes logically associating a first bounding area with a first face of the CAD solid model in at least one nontransitory processor-readable medium, and identifying a second bounding area includes logically associating a second bounding area with a second face of the CAD solid model in at least one nontransitory processor-readable medium.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein at least one of the first bounding area or the second bounding area has a planar shape.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein at least one of the first bounding area or the second bounding area has a non-planar shape.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
causing the display of the CAM system to display the CAD solid model and the extended machining path CAM surface model.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving a selection of the first face of the CAD solid model via a user interface of the CAD system; and
receiving a selection of the second face of the CAD solid model via a user interface of the CAD system.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein extending the first extended surface edge of the extended machining path CAM surface model includes extending the first extended surface edge of the extended machining path CAM surface model to the first bounding area, and extending the second extended surface edge of the extended machining path CAM surface model includes extending the second extended surface edge of the extended machining path CAM surface model to the second bounding area.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein extending the first extended surface edge of the extended machining path CAM surface model includes extending the first extended surface edge of the extended machining path CAM surface model a first distance toward the first bounding area, and extending the second extended surface edge of the extended machining path CAM surface model includes extending the second extended surface edge of the extended machining path CAM surface model a second distance toward the second bounding area.

13. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
autonomously determining at least one of the one or more non-spanning machining faces of the CAD solid model has been modified; and
autonomously modifying, by the at least one processor, the extended machining path CAM surface model dependent on the modification to create a modified extended machining path CAM surface model.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:
causing the display of the CAM system to display the modified CAD solid model and the modified extended machining path CAM surface model.

15. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
identifying one or more spanning machining faces of the CAD solid model, each of the one or more spanning machining faces having a first edge at least a portion of which is adjacent the first bounding area and a second edge at least a portion of which is adjacent the second bounding area, such that each of the one or more non-spanning machining faces do not span between the first bounding area and the second bounding area; and
autonomously creating, by the at least one processor, a simplified machining path CAM surface model that defines a machining orientation for the tool, the simplified machining path CAM surface model logically associated with one or more spanning machining faces of the CAD solid model in at least one nontransitory processor-readable medium, the simplified machining path CAM surface model including one or more simplified machining path CAM surfaces, each simplified ma

Assignees

• Flow Int Corp

Inventors

• Desimone Frank E
• Lind Vanessa A
• Mental Kenneth A
• Chillman Alex M

Classifications

• G06F30/00

  Computer-aided design [CAD] · CPC title

• B26F3/004

  by means of a fluid jet (methods for use of abrasive blasting for cutting B24C1/045; guns for abrasive fluid jets B24C5/02; perforating by non-mechanical means, e.g. by fluid jet B26F1/26) · CPC title

• G05B2219/35097

  Generation of cutter path, offset curve · CPC title

• G05B2219/49012

  Remove material by laser beam, air, water jet to form 3-D object · CPC title

• G05B2219/35051

  Data exchange between cad systems, cad and cam · CPC title