A system for processing a work-piece including a sheet of material into pieces includes a production environment configured for collecting data characterizing the work-piece and for subsequently cutting the work-piece into a plurality of products; and a development environment separate from the production environment, the development environment configured for receiving characterization data from the production environment, developing a nesting strategy for cutting the work-piece and providing the nesting strategy.

Methods and apparatus for optimally positioning objects for automated machining are described herein. An example build file generator described herein includes an object file manager to identify a first toolpath volume associated with a first object to be formed via an additive manufacturing (AM) process. The first toolpath volume is based on a first toolpath of a first post-manufacturing process to be used on the first object. The object file manager is also to identify a second toolpath volume associated with a second object to be formed via the AM process. The second toolpath volume is based on a second toolpath of a second post-manufacturing process to be used on the second object. The example build file generator also includes a layout determiner to determine a layout of the first and second objects to be formed on a substrate by the AM process based on the first and second toolpath volumes.

The invention provides a computerized method for optimization of efficiency of a production floor producing three-dimensional products using two-dimensional cutting machines, the method comprising: a. receiving input parameters comprising job data, due dates, product design data, production floor resources available and inventory data; b. maintaining in memory manufacturing rules and objectives; c. assigning relative weights of importance to the input parameters and to the manufacturing rules and objectives; d. computing, based on the input parameters, on the manufacturing rules and objectives and on the relative weights of importance, a production floor work plan schedule; e. determining whether the schedule is efficient in utilization of materials and resources available; if so, outputting the production floor work plan schedule; f. if the computed production floor schedule is determined to be inefficient, repeating steps (d) and (e) until it is determined to be efficient. A system for optimization of a production floor work plan schedule is also disclosed.

A method for trim loss optimization for metal industries includes receiving a selection of one or more orders for metal trimming. The method also includes inputting the one or more orders and multiple machine parameters to a dimension conversion engine, the dimension conversion engine configured to determine a roll width and a roll length for optimally fulfilling each order using decomposition of a three dimensional problem into a two dimensional problem based on spatial decomposition. The method also includes identifying at least one metal forming or conversion machine for processing the one or more orders. The method also includes inputting one or more metal tolerances as edge trim parameters to a trim algorithm. The method also includes determining, using the trim algorithm, a number of parent rolls for fulfilling the one or more orders using the at least one metal forming or conversion machine.

A method for evaluating a position of a selected sub-space of a nesting plan is provided. The nesting plan is provided for controlling a cutting process of a flatbed machine tool for cutting out workpieces from a material sheet and includes an overlap-free arrangement of respective sub-spaces, the respective sub-spaces corresponding to the workpieces. The method includes providing contour data specifying a cutting contour that delimits the selected sub-space in the position to be evaluated within the planning space, and providing position data indicating respective positions in the planning space of spaces to be considered in the evaluation. The spaces include a group of supported spaces and a group of support surrounding spaces. The method includes providing cutting operation data for at least one section and determining an evaluation value for the position to be evaluated of the selected sub-space using the calculated damage rate of the cutting contour.

In some examples, a request to print a first three-dimensional (3D) part is received. In response to determining that the first 3D part is not similar to any 3D part referred to by an information base, a representation of the first 3D part is extracted, an indication to conduct an operation to produce a design rule for the first 3D part is sent. In response to determining that the first 3D part is similar to a matching 3D part referred to by the information base, a design rule for the matching 3D part is retrieved to print the first 3D part, where the design rule for the matching 3D part specifies a dependency of a property of the matching 3D part on an aspect associated with printing the matching 3D part.

When cutting the flat products (3) a set of the desired shapes and dimension of the products (3) is defined. Firstly at least one surface of the material (1) is scanned; scanning sets the boundaries of the available surface of the material (1). Optical scanning can be supplied by radiological scanning, preferably by a CT scanner (8). Defects (2) are identified in the scanned image and a position is assigned to them. A weight coefficient is assigned to each element from a set of the desired shapes and dimensions of the products (3). A cutting plan (4) is created; this plan (4) defines the boundaries of individual flat products (3), whereby the places with the identified defects (2) of the material (1). Optimalization of the distribution of the desired products (3) is realized with the goal of achieving the highest sum of the number of the products (3) multiplied by the weight coefficient of a given product (3) without the need to cut all the elements from a set of the desired products (3). Subsequently a cutting machine (6) is used to cut the products (3); this machine (6) cuts the material (1) without any limitation with regard to the mutual position of the cut lines of the neighboring products (3).

A substrate stopping position determination method of an electronic component mounting machine, is provided with a movement time calculation step of calculating movement times in which two mounting heads move in order to mount electronic components when a first substrate is positioned in a first side and a second substrate is positioned in a second side, an interference loss time calculation step of calculating an interference loss time in which, while one of the two mounting heads enters an interference area, the other waits to enter the interference area, and a stopping position determination step of determining the first and the second side set position which are selected from among all combinations as substrate stopping positions based on total movement times which are calculated for all of the combinations of the first and the second side set position and the interference loss time.

Methods and apparatus for optimally positioning objects for automated machining are described herein. An example build file generator described herein includes an object file manager to identify a first toolpath volume associated with a first object to be formed via an additive manufacturing (AM) process. The first toolpath volume is based on a first toolpath of a first post-manufacturing process to be used on the first object. The object file manager is also to identify a second toolpath volume associated with a second object to be formed via the AM process. The second toolpath volume is based on a second toolpath of a second post-manufacturing process to be used on the second object. The example build file generator also includes a layout determiner to determine a layout of the first and second objects to be formed on a substrate by the AM process based on the first and second toolpath volumes.

In a machining system that conducts nesting to arrange parts over a workpiece and machines the workpiece with a machine tool according to a result of the nesting, there is an automatic programming device for preparing a nesting machining program for the machine tool, wherein nested workpiece information relating to the workpiece nested is acquired according to the information relating to the parts and the information relating to the workpiece, sections that require no re-nesting in the nested workpiece information are locked according to the operator's designation, re-nesting is conducted on sections other than the locked sections.