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EP-4543650-B1 - AUTOMATIC FLAT-PIECE CUTTING MACHINE AND RELATED METHOD

EP4543650B1EP 4543650 B1EP4543650 B1EP 4543650B1EP-4543650-B1

Inventors

  • PASINI, Manuel
  • GORI, Sergio
  • CATTINI, PAOLO

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20230619

Claims (16)

  1. A cutting machine (1) for the automated cutting of at least one flat piece made of deformable material, comprising: - a cutting table (10) which supports a cutting mat (12) and extends between a loading area (10a) of the flat piece onto the cutting mat and an unloading area (10b) of the flat piece from the cutting mat, the flat piece being translatable on or with the cutting mat from the loading area to the unloading area; - a cutting unit (14) provided with a blade and movable over the cutting mat to cut the flat piece into shapes and/or along lines according to a predetermined cutting path; - an accessory processing unit (20) provided with at least one accessory tool (22) and movable over at least a portion of the cutting mat to perform accessory processing of the flat piece according to a predetermined accessory processing path; - an electronic control unit (30) configured to control the cutting unit and the accessory processing unit, the electronic control unit being programmed so as to actuate the accessory processing unit simultaneously to the cutting unit at least during a cutting step of the flat piece; wherein the electronic control unit (30) is configured to move the cutting unit (14) within a first area (A1) of the cutting mat and move the accessory processing unit (20) within a second area (A2) of the cutting mat, and wherein the second area (A2) coincides with the first area (A1) or the second area (A2) is within the first area (A1) or the second area (A2) at least partially overlaps the first area (A1).
  2. A machine according to claim 1, wherein the electronic control unit is programmed to actuate the accessory processing unit simultaneously to the cutting unit when the flat piece at least partially enters the second area of the cutting mat.
  3. A machine according to claim 1 or 2, comprising a mat actuator controllable by the electronic control unit to perform an automated translation of the cutting mat on the cutting table.
  4. A machine according to claim 3, wherein the electronic control unit is programmed to actuate the mat actuator so that the translation of the cutting mat occurs in an intermittent manner.
  5. A machine according to claim 3, wherein the electronic control unit is programmed to actuate the mat actuator so that the translation of the cutting mat occurs continuously, the cutting unit and the accessory processing unit being controllable so as to make the cut and perform the accessory processing during the translation of the cutting mat, wherein the machine comprises a mat position sensor suitable for continuously sensing the position of the cutting mat along the translation axis, and wherein the electronic control unit is programmed to acquire from the mat position sensor the current position of the cutting mat and to command the cutting unit and the accessory processing unit to follow a cutting and accessory processing path, wherein the coordinates of said path along the mat translation axis are given by the difference between predetermined coordinates and the current position of the cutting mat.
  6. A machine according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the accessory processing unit is a unit for drilling and/or die cutting the flat piece.
  7. A machine according to claim 6, wherein the drilling and/or die cutting unit comprises a robotic arm (24) placed downstream or upstream of the cutting unit along the advancement direction of the cutting mat on the cutting table, wherein an electromechanical member (26) suitable for operatively supporting a drill bit or a die cutting bit is mounted on the wrist of the robotic arm.
  8. A machine according to claim 7, wherein said electromechanical member comprises a toroidal-shaped motor assembly (300) which extends around a motor rotation axis and which is provided with coupling means to the drill bit or die cutting bit (22), said coupling means being suitable for supporting the drill bit or the die cutting bit coaxially to said motor rotation axis.
  9. A machine according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the robotic arm comprises an ejection rod which is translatable inside the die cutting bit to eject the cut material inside the die cutting bit.
  10. A method for making a cut in closed shapes and/or along lines according to a predetermined cutting path on at least one flat piece made of deformable material, and accessory processing by means of an automatic cutting machine (1) comprising: - a cutting table (10) which supports a cutting mat (12) and extends between a loading area (10a) of the flat piece onto the cutting mat and an unloading area (10b) of the flat piece from the cutting mat, where the flat piece is translatable on or with the cutting mat from the loading area to the unloading area; - a cutting unit (14) provided with a blade and movable over a first area (A1) of the cutting mat to cut the flat piece; - an accessory processing unit (20) provided with at least one accessory tool (22) and movable over a second area (A2) of the cutting mat to perform accessory processing of the flat piece, wherein the second area (A2) coincides with the first area (A1) or the second area (A2) is within the first area (A1) or the second area (A2) at least partially overlaps the first area (A1); the method comprising the steps of: - advancing the flat piece from the loading area to the unloading area; - simultaneously actuating both the cutting unit and the accessory processing unit at least during a cutting step of the flat piece.
  11. A method according to claim 10, further comprising the steps of: - when the flat piece is exclusively in the first or second area of the cutting mat, actuating either the cutting unit or the accessory processing unit; - when the flat piece is at least partially in both the first and the second area of the cutting mat, simultaneously actuating both the cutting unit and the accessory processing unit.
  12. A method according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the accessory processing is drilling or die cutting of the flat piece or labelling of the shapes obtained from cutting the flat piece.
  13. A method according to any one of claims 10-12, wherein the cutting path is described in a CAD file which also includes a description of the accessory processing, the method comprising the steps of: - acquiring, by an electronic control unit (30) of the cutting machine, said CAD file; - transmitting, by the electronic control unit, the coordinates of the cutting path to electric drives of the cutting unit and the coordinates of the accessory processing to electric drives of the accessory processing unit.
  14. A method according to any one of claims 10-13, wherein the flat piece is advanced in an intermittent manner.
  15. A method according to any one of claims 10-13, wherein the flat piece is advanced continuously, wherein the cutting unit and the accessory processing unit are controlled so as to perform the cut and the accessory processing during the translation of the cutting mat, the method further comprising the steps of: - acquiring from a mat position sensor the current position (w) of the cutting mat; - acquiring the coordinates of the cutting path (x i , y i , z i ) and the coordinates of the accessory processing path (x j , y j , z j ); - calculating updated coordinates of the cutting path and the accessory processing path, wherein the coordinates (x i,w, x j,w ) of the cutting path and the accessory processing path along the translation axis (X) of the cutting mat are obtained from the difference between the acquired coordinates (x i , x j ) and the current position (w) of the cutting mat; - transmitting to the cutting unit and the accessory processing unit the updated coordinates of the cutting path and of the accessory processing path.
  16. A method according to any one of claims 10-15, wherein the second area of the cutting mat is defined downstream or upstream of the first area of the cutting mat in the advancement direction of the flat piece from the loading area to the unloading area.

Description

The present invention relates to the field of machines for the automatic cutting of flat pieces made of deformable materials, particularly textiles. The cutting machines to which the present invention refers are of the type that, by importing via software a cutting path (called "nesting" in jargon), provides for the blade cutting of shapes or along lines, such as, for example, portions of the flat piece defined by polygons. In addition to cutting, these machines may carry out accessory processing, such as, for example, drilling or die cutting of holes, even of different sizes, or labeling the cut portions of the flat piece. Therefore, in some known embodiments, an automatic cutting machine of the type mentioned above comprises a cutting table which supports a cutting mat and which extends between an area for loading the flat piece onto the cutting mat and an area for unloading the flat piece from the cutting mat. The cutting mat also acts as a conveyor belt and is therefore translatable on the cutting table to transport the flat piece from the loading area to the unloading area. The machine is equipped with a cutting unit that has a blade or knife and is movable above the cutting mat to perform flat piece cutting in closed shapes or other figures, such as simple cutting along lines, according to a predetermined cutting path. For example, the cutting unit is mounted on a beam which is slidable along the advancement direction of the cutting mat. The cutting unit is also slidable along the beam and therefore orthogonally to the advancement direction of the cutting mat. In this way, the cutting blade may reach any position in the plane defined by the cutting mat. In the automotive, aerospace, apparel, and composite materials sectors, it is common to use very long nestings (e.g., 10-12 m), in which there are also numerous holes, with diameters that may vary from 1 to 30 mm, for example. The holes are needed to fix, for example by means of clips, the cut materials to the supporting structures of a finished product. For example, in an automobile, the soft lining parts of an engine hood or luggage compartment are attached to the metal structure with buttons and clips that engage these holes; some deformable components of headrests also need to have holes as circular references for matching them to the upholstery parts, paddings, etc. Currently, in order to drill these holes during the work cycle of an automatic cutting machine, it is necessary to install on board the cutting head beam one or more devices, such as drills and/or dies, with diameters which are consistent with the size of the holes. During the work cycle, the material is advanced by the cutting mat (continuously or stepwise), and the material is alternately cut by the blade or drilled/pierced by the drill/die. The alternative use of the blade or drill/die results from the coexistence of the two devices on the same beam, and this inevitably introduces dead time that slows down the work cycle. For example, the greater the length of the nestings, the more holes with different diameters, the more the whole process suffers downtime due to the alternation between cutting and drilling. The object of the present invention is to resolve the aforementioned limitations of the textile cutting machine according to the prior art, and in particular it is to propose a flat-piece cutting machine capable of cutting down dead time and reducing the travel time of the flat piece on the cutting table, with obvious advantages in terms of work cycle productivity. This object is achieved with an automatic flat piece cutting machine according to claim 1 and with a method according to claim 10. The dependent claims describe preferred or advantageous embodiments of the invention. The features and advantages of the machine and method according to the invention shall be made readily apparent from the following description of preferred example embodiments thereof, provided purely by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the accompanying figures, wherein: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a cutting machine according to the invention, in one embodiment;Fig. 1a is an elevation view of the machine in Fig. 1;Fig. 1b is a plan view from the top of the machine in Fig. 1, wherein two different work areas are denoted with dashed lines;Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of the machine from the previous figures, showing, below the cutting mat, a sensor for detecting the translation of the cutting mat;Fig. 3 is a perspective view of only the drilling and/or die cutting unit of the machine in Fig. 1;Fig. 4 is a perspective view of an electromechanical member of the drilling and/or die cutting unit in Fig. 3, on which a die cutting tool is mounted;Fig. 4a is a plan view from above of the electromechanical member in Fig. 4;Fig. 4b is an axial section of the electromechanical member and the die cutting tool thereof;Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the die cutting tool alone, in one emb