Automatic method and apparatus for fabricating progressive dies

Claim 2

In a method for automatically designing by computing apparatus a progressive die for use in manufacturing a specified piecepart of predetermined material, the steps of: generating electrical co-ordinate signals representative of said piecepart; transforming said co-ordinate signals to transformed co-ordinate signals representing said piecepart flattened into a sheet of said predetermined material but with a component to accommodate spring back effects of said material; modifying said transformed co-ordinate signals to modified transformed co-ordinate signals representing said piecepart entirely flattened to compensate for said component; and storing said co-ordinate signals, said transformed co-ordinate signals, and said modified transformed co-ordinate signals.

Claim 3

The method according to claim 1 further comprising the step of sorting the stored signals in an order corresponding to progressive die operations.

Claim 4

The method according to claim 1 wherein the step of transforming includes removing bends from the piecepart represented by said co-ordinate signals less said component.

Claim 5

The method according to claim 3 where said component is an overbend component and wherein the step of modifying comprises removing said overbend component in the piecepart represented by said transformed co-ordinate signals to compensate for spring back characteristic of said predetermined material.

Claim 6

The method according to claim 1 further comprising the step of processing said modified transformed co-ordinate signals to determine which orientation of successive outlines of said flattened piecepart on a sheet of said material minimizes waste of said material.

Claim 7

The method according to claim 5 wherein said step of processing comprises: rotating said flattened piecepart, in the form of said modified transformed co-ordinate signals, in plural successive angular increments where at each angular increment the following steps (a) - (d) occur: a. translating said rotated flattened piecepart, in the form of said rotated, modified transformed co-ordinate signals, a first distance along a first co-ordinate axis to a location at which the outlines of the rotated flattened piecepart and the translated rotated flattened piecepart are separated by a pre-established minimal spacing; b. measuring said first distance along said first co-ordinate axis; c. measuring a second distance along a second co-ordinate axis perpendicular to said first co-ordinate axis, at least between the maximum and minimum points of the rotated flattened piecepart; d. multiplYing said first distance by said second distance, in the form of signals, to provide an area signal having an amplitude representing the product of said distances; detecting the minimum amplitude of said area signal; and storing a signal representing the incremental rotation step of said flattened piecepart at which the minimum amplitude of said area signal was detected.

Claim 8

The method according to claim 6 further comprising the step of detecting portions of the outline of said piecepart which are to be punched at a different stage of said progressive die than the remainder of said outline, the last-mentioned step comprising the steps of: generating blanket co-ordinate signals representing a closed completely convex line coinciding with convex portions of the outline of said flattened piecepart; measuring the displacement betwen said closed convex line and segments of said outline of said flattened piecepart lying interiorly of said closed convex line; comparing the bending stresses induced in a die section of a die having the shape of said outline with a pre-established maximum safe stress; and designating those segments of said outline extending interiorly of said closed convex line by more than a pre-established displacement corresponding to said pre-established maximum safe stress as portions of said outline to be separately punched.

Claim 9

The method according to claim 7 further comprising the step of determining whether holes in said piecepart should be punched in one stage of said progressive die, said last-mentioned step comprising: generating further blanket co-ordinate signals for each hole representing a further closed completely convex line coinciding with convex portions of the outline of said hole and including all other portions of the outline of said hole interiorly of said convex line; measuring the displacement between said further closed convex line and segments of said outline of said hole lying interiorly of said further closed convex line; comparing the bending stresses induced in a die section of a die having the shape of said outline with a pre-established maximum safe stress; and designating those segments of said outline of said hole extending interiorly of said further convex line by more than a threshold value corresponding to said pre-established maximum safe stress as portions of said hole to be separately punched.

Claim 10

The method according to claim 1 further comprising the step of orienting said flattened piecepart, in the form of said modified transformed co-ordinate signals, in an angular position wherein successive outlines of the oriented flattened piecepart on a sheet of said material consume a minimum of area of said material, said step of orienting comprising: rotating said flattened piecepart in the form of said modified transformed co-ordinate signals, through 360* in angular increments; wherein at each of said angular increments the following steps (a) - (d) occur: a. translating the outline of said flattened piecepart, in the form of said modified transformed co-ordinate signals, a first distance along a first co-ordinate axis until said outline and the translated outline are separated by a pre-established minimum spacing; b. measuring said first distance; c. measuring at least the length of said rotated piecepart along a second co-ordinate axis perpendicular to said first co-ordinate axis; d. multiplying said first distance by said length to provide an area signal of amplitude proportional to the product of said first distance and said length; detecting the minimum amplitude of said area signal; and storing a signal representing the angle of the incremental step at which said minimum amplitude is detected.

Claim 13

The method according to claim 10 wherein the step of transforming comprises partially removing curves from said articles as represented by said co-ordinate signals.

Claim 14

The method according to claim 10 wherein the step of modifying comprises removing from said transformed. signal a component corresponding to the overbending imparted to said article, as represented by said transformed co-ordinate signals, to compensate for spring back characteristics of said material whereby said modified, transformed signal represents said article completely flattened.

Claim 19

Apparatus for use in automatically designing a progressive die to be used in manufacturing a specified piecepart of predetermined material, said apparatus comprising: means for generating coordinate signals representative of said piecepart; means for transforming said coordinate signals into transformed coordinate signals representing said piecepart flattened into a sheet of said predetermined material but with a component accommodate spring back effects of said material; means for modifying said transformed coordinate signals to modified transformed co-ordinate signals representing said piecepart entirely flattened to compensate for said component; and means for storing said coordinate signals, said transformed coordinate signals, and said modified transformed co-ordinate signals.

Claim 20

Apparatus for use in automatically designing a progressive die to be used in manufacturing a specified piecepart of predetermined material, said apparatus comprising: means for generating coordinate signals representative of said piecepart; means for transforming said coordinate signals into transformed coordinate signals representing said piecepart flattened into a sheet of said predetermined material but with a component accommodate spring back effects of said material; means for modifying said transformed coordinate signals to modified transformed co-ordinate signals representing said piecepart entirely flattened to compensate for said component; and means for storing said coordinate signals, said transformed coordinate signals, and said modified transformed co-ordinate signals.

Claim 21

The combination according to claim 15 further comprising means for sorting the stored signals in an order corresponding to progressive die operations.

Claim 22

The combination according to claim 15 wherein said means for transforming includes means for removing bends from the piecepart represented by said coordinate signals less said component.

Claim 23

The combination according to claim 17 where said component is an overbend component and wherein said means for modifying comprises means for removing said overbend component in the piecepart represented by said transformed coordinate signals to compensate for spring back characteristics of said predetermined material.

Claim 24

The combination according to claim 15 further comprising means for processing said modified transformed coordinate signals to determine which orientation of successive outlines of said flattened piecepart on a sheet of said material minimizes waste of said material.

Claim 25

The combination according to claim 19 wherein said means for processing comprises: means for rotating said flattened piecepart, in the form of said modified transformed coordinate signals, in plural successive incremental steps; means for translating, during each of said incremental rotational steps, said rotated flattened piecepart, in the form of said modified transformed coordinate signals, a first distance along a first coordinate axis to a location at which the outlines of the rotated flattened piecepart and the translated rotated flattened piecepart are separated by a pre-established minimal spacing; means for measuring, during each of said incremental rotational steps, said first distance along said first coordinate axis; means measuring, during each of said incremental rotational steps, a second distance along a second coordinate axis perpendicular to said first coordinate axis, at least between the maximum and minimum points of the rotated flattened piecepart; means for multiplying, during each of said incremental rotational steps, said first distance by said second distance, in the form of signals, to provide an area signal having an amplitude representing the produce of said distances; means for detecting the minimum amplitude of said area signal; and means for storing a signal representing the incremental rotation step of said flattened piecepart at which the minimum amplitude of said area signal was detected.

Claim 26

The combination according to claim 20 further comprising means for detecting portions of the outline of said piecepart which are to be punched at a different stage of said progressive die than the remainder of said outline, said means for detecting comprising: means for generating blanket coordinate signals representing a closed completely convex line coinciding with convex portions of the outline of said flattened piecepart; means for measuring the displacement between said closed convex line and segments of said outline of said flattened piecepart lying interiorly of said closed convex line; means for comparting said displacement with a pre-established displacement; and means for designating those segments of said outline extending interiorly of said closed convex line by more than said pre-established displacement as portions of said outline to be separately punched.

Claim 27

The combination according to claim 21 further comprising means for determining whether holes in said piecepart should be punched in a common stage of said progressive die, said last-mentioned means comprising: means for generating further blanket coordinate signals for each hole representing a further closed completely convex line coinciding with convex portions of the outline of said hole and including all other portions of the outline of said hole interiorly of said convex line; means for measuring the displacement between said further closed convex line and segments of said outline of said hole lying interiorly of said further closed convex line, means for comparing said last-mentioned displacement with a threshold level; and means for designating those segments of said outline of said hole extending interiorly of said further convex line by more than said threshold value as portions of said hole to be separately.

Claim 28

In combination: means generating coordinate signals representing an article of specified material; means for transforming said coordinate signals to alter the configuration of said article in a predetermined manner; and means for modifying said transformed signals to compensate for deformation of said material during alteration of the configuration of said article.

Claim 29

In combination: means generating coordinate signals representing an article of specified material; means for transforming said coordinate signals to alter the configuration of said article in a predetermined manner; and means for modifying said transformed signals to compensate for deformation of said material during alteration of the configuration of said article.

Claim 30

The combination according to claim 23 wherein said means for transforming comprises means for partially removing curves from said article as represented by said co-ordinate signals.

Claim 31

The combination according to claim 23 wherein said means for modifying comprises means for removing from said transformed signal a component corresponding to the overbending imparted to said article, as represented by said transformed co-ordinate signals, to compensate for spring back charcteristics of said material whereby said modified, transformed signal represents said article completely flattened.

Claim 32

Apparatus for determining which segments of a planar outline of a piecepart should be punched at a different stage of a progressive die than the remainder of said outline, said apparatus comprising: means for generating co-ordinate signals representing a closed completely convex line coinciding with convex portions of said outline and including all other portions of said outline interiorly thereof; means for comparing the displacement between said closed convex line and portions of said outline interiorly thereof with a threshold displacement; and means for designating segments of said outline displaced from said closed convex line by more than said threshold displacement as segments to be punched at different stages of said progressive die than said remainder of said outline.

Claim 33

Apparatus for determining which segments of a planar outline of a piecepart should be punched at a different stage of a progressive die than the remainder of said outline, said apparatus comprising: means for generating co-ordinate signals representing a closed completely convex line coinciding with convex portions of said outline and including all other portions of said outline interiorly thereof; means for comparing the displacement between said closed convex line and portions of said outline interiorly thereof with a threshold displacement; and means for designating segments of said outline displaced from said closed convex line by more than said threshold displacement as segments to be punched at different stages of said progressive die than said remainder of said outline.

Claim 36

A method as in claim 27 where the signals included in each said group represent holes which are adequately far apart to permit piercing of said holes at a common stage of said progressive die.

Claim 37

A method as in claim 27 where at least a portion of said piecepart is non-flat, said method including the steps of processing the electrical signals corresponding to those features related to the non-flat portions to obtain processed signals representing those features after said non-flat portion has been flattened taking into account any deformation of said material necessary to form said non-flat portion; storing said processed signals; and where during said sorting step, both said stored electrical signals and said stored processed signals are sorted into said order corresponding to the series of operations to be performed by said progressive die.

Claim 40

A method as in claim 30 where said processing step includes the steps of: a. generating from said plurality of electrical signals further electrical signals corresponding to the non-flat portions of said piecepart; b. generating from said further electrical signals compensation signals corresponding to the additional deformation which must be imparted to said material in order to form said non-flat portion; and c. combining said further electrical and compensation signals to obtain said processed signals.

Claim 41

A method as in claim 31 where said combining step includes the steps of a. subtracting said compensation signals from said further electrical signals to obtain a signal representative of the non-flat portion of said piecepart less said additional deformation; b. subtracting said last-mentioned signal from said plurality of electrical signals to form transformed signals representative of said piecepart completely flattened but for said additional deformation; and c. modifying said transformed signals to modified, transformed signals representative of said piecepart entirely flattened.

Claim 42

A method as in claim 32 where said modifying step includes the steps of: a. generating from said transformed signals corresponding to said compensation signals; and b. subtracting from said transformed signals said compensation signals to obtain said modified, transformed signals.

Claim 43

In a method for automatically designing by computing apparatus a progressive die for use in manufacturing a specified piecepart of predetermined material, the steps of: generating electrical coordinate signals representative of said piecepart; storing said coordinate signals; and sorting the stored signals in an order corresponding to progressive die operations.

Claim 44

In a method for automatically designing by computing apparatus a progressive die for use in manufacturing a specified piecepart of predetermined material, the steps of: generating electrical coordinate signals representative of said piecepart; storing said coordinate signals; and sorting the stored signals in an order corresponding to progressive die operations.

Claim 45

In a method for automatically designing by computing apparatus a progressive die for use in manufacturing a specified piecepart of predetermined material, the steps of: generating electrical co-ordinate signals representative of said piecepart; and processing said co-ordinate signals to determine which segments of a planar outline of said piecepart should be punched at a different stage of said progressive die.

Claim 46

In a method for automatically designing by computing apparatus a progressive die for use in manufacturing a specified piecepart of predetermined material, the steps of: generating electrical co-ordinate signals representative of said piecepart; and processing said co-ordinate signals to determine which segments of a planar outline of said piecepart should be punched at a different stage of said progressive die.

Claim 47

In a method for automatically designing by computing apparatus a progressive die for use in manufacturing a specified piecepart of predetermined material, the steps of: generating electrical co-ordinate signals representative of said piecepart; and processing said co-ordinate signals to determine whether holes in said piecepart should be punched in a common stage of said progressive die.

Claim 48

In a method for automatically designing by computing apparatus a progressive die for use in manufacturing a specified piecepart of predetermined material, the steps of: generating electrical co-ordinate signals representative of said piecepart; and processing said co-ordinate signals to determine whether holes in said piecepart should be punched in a common stage of said progressive die.

Claim 49

The method according to claim 1 wherein the step of transforming includes removing draws from the piecepart represented by said co-ordinate signals less said component.

Claim 50

The method according to claim 1 where said co-ordinate signals, said transformed signals, and said modified transformed signals are electrical.

Claim 51

The method according to claim 10 where the alteration performed in said transforming step results in the flattening of said article into a sheet of said specified material.

Claim 52

The combination according to claim 23 where said transforming means alters the configuration of said article by flattening it into a sheet of predetermined material.

Claim 53

A method as in claim 27 where at least a portion of said piecepart is non-flat, said method including the steps of processing the electrical signals corresponding to those features related to the non-flat portions to obtain processed signals representing those features after said non-flat portion has been flattened; storing said processed signals; and where during said sorting step, both said stored electrical signals and said stored processed signals are sorted into said order corresponding to the series of operations to be performed by said progressive die.