A cutting blade detecting mechanism is provided in a cutting apparatus including a chuck table for holding a workpiece and a cutting blade having an annular cutting edge for cutting the workpiece held on the chuck table while the workpiece is being cutting-fed in an X-axis direction. The cutting blade detecting mechanism has a blade detecting unit configured to detect the state of the cutting edge of the cutting blade. The blade detecting unit includes an image capturing unit configured to capture an image of the cutting edge in the X-axis direction, a light emitter disposed in a position opposite the image capturing unit and facing the cutting edge, and a decision unit configured to determine the state of the shape of a tip end of the cutting edge from the image of the cutting edge which has been captured by the image capturing unit.

The invention relates to a cutting system. The cutting system (1) is designed to extend in the direction of a first system axis (7) which extends horizontally along a width (B) of the cutting system (1), in the direction of a second system axis (8) which extends vertically relative to the first system axis (7), and in the direction of a third system axis (9) which extends along the depth (T) of the cutting system orthogonally to the first system axis (7) and the second system axis (8). The cutting system has a support (2), a tool (3; 4) which is received on the support (2) in the form of a saw with a spindle shaft (13; 14), the operating direction of the tool following the direction of the first system axis (7), and an additional tool (5) which is received on the support (2) in the form of a chop saw with a third spindle shaft (15), the operating direction of the additional tool following the direction of the first system axis (7). The tools (3; 4; 5) are used to machine a blank, and the tools (3; 4; 5) are arranged in series in the direction of the first system axis (7). The cutting system (1) has a support element (10) which is received on the support (2) in a movable manner along the first system axis (7) and the second system axis (8), and the support element (10) is provided for supporting the blank. The support element (10) can be rotated about the second system axis (8), and according to the invention, the spindle shaft (13; 14) is orthogonal to the third spindle shaft (15).

An edge alignment method includes (a) calculating coordinates of points having a possibility of corresponding to an edge of the workpiece, (b) forming an approximate circle by using a least squares method on all the coordinates, (c) calculating deviations between the approximate circle and respective ones of all the points, and if plural ones of the points have deviations greater than or equal to a preset threshold, respectively, then determining the point, the deviation of which is greatest, to be a false detection position, and excluding from consideration candidates the point determined to be the false detection position, and (d) estimating a position of the edge of the workpiece from the coordinates of three or more of the points still remaining without exclusion, and based on the estimated position of the edge, deriving a machining area at the outer peripheral portion of the workpiece.

A workpiece support jig includes a support plate supporting a workpiece on a first surface while covering a support surface of a chuck table with a second surface opposite to the first surface and a retainer plate including an area sufficient to cover the whole of the workpiece and sandwiching the workpiece, held on the first surface of the support plate, between the support plate and itself. The support plate includes a plurality of groove parts corresponding to projected division lines of the supported workpiece and a plurality of through holes formed in chip-holding regions demarcated and divided by the intersecting groove parts. When the workpiece divided by a processing unit into chips is unloaded from the chuck table, the workpiece is unloaded while being sandwiched between the support plate and the retainer plate.