Multiple sheet cutting

PROCESS RESEARCH and DEVELOPMENT STUDY OF AN INNOVATIVE MODEL OF MULTIPLE CUT SHEETS

The research aims at solving the following technological problem: the multiple cut of thin sheets using waterjet cutting machines and/or fibre laser cutting machines. Currently there is no known solution for this kind of problem and a research we carried out in cooperation with the University of Udine (see Mr Raffaele Cian’s dissertation – supervisor Professor Fabio Nardin, co-supervisor Professor Dario Vanin-) showed that multiple cut is not possible with current C02 laser cutting systems. The starting points of the research project are the following:

1) all current laser cutting systems cut one sheet at a time;

2) laser cutting speed doesn’t decreases proportionally to the increase in thickness, sa the following table clearly shows:

_{Table Bystronic Speed of cut Laser in CO2}

 St 37-2

This means that if you overlapped 10 1 mm thick sheets, so that you would obtain a total thickness of 10mm, then you would cut 10x1300 mm = 13000 mm in one minute instead of 6700 mm per minute (which is the total thickness you would cut if you were to cut a 1mm sheet) with a 94% total advantage. Furthermore you would also have to take into consideration:

a) downtime for loading and unloading of sheets,
b) the fact that you would have to change the parameters of cutting, the cutting head etc. in compliance with thickness variations, (if you bundle sheets in order to have always the same total thickness, cutting parameters remain the same).

The competitive advantage that you could derive from the resolution of that problem is unmistakeable.