In CNC cutting, you arrange your shapes on the computer screen and cut
them automatically, without having to touch the material.
CNC software lets you program pauses for piercing, scale up or down in seconds, set
acceleration and deceleration at corners, and other functions not possible with electric
eye units. |
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The above shapes
were created in CorelDraw, and then turned and nested together to minimize scrap material.
The group of shapes were then exported as a single HPGL (Hewlett Packard Graphics
Language) file. The file was then imported into a separate driver program, shown
above.
The shapes are cut in a sequence that minimizes the distance the torch has to travel
before returning to the home position. Here, all 21 pieces are completed in
3/16" mild steel in under 10 minutes, at a cutting speed of approximately 80 inches
per minute.
Note that while 21 pieces were produced, there are actually 49 separate shapes that had to
be cut, some within other shapes. This is all done automatically, with a 2 second
pause to pierce the steel for each new cut.
Note the lead-ins that were used to prevent blemishes in the finished part due to
piercing.
The machine that cut these pieces is available in kit form for about $3,500. You can
see it at: www.torchmate.com |
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