Machining based on strategies selected based on prioritized aspects of manufacturing

Abstract

A method includes the steps of receiving user input indicative of prioritized aspects of manufacturing of an object, the prioritized aspects including tool life or surface quality or object manufacturing speed; obtaining a model of an object to be manufactured via subtractive manufacturing; identifying, based on the model, a geometric feature to be machined as part of manufacturing the object; obtaining a plurality of strategies for machining the geometric feature, by accessing a database, the plurality of strategies defining alternative ways of machining the geometric feature; selecting at least one strategy from the plurality of strategies by ranking the plurality of strategies using the prioritized aspects of manufacturing and selecting at least one strategy having the highest ranking, providing, based on the at least one selected strategy, instructions for causing the one or more machine tools to manufacture the object via subtractive manufacturing.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD[0001]The present disclosure generally relates to machining, and in particular to process planning for machining operations for subtractive manufacturing.BACKGROUND[0002]Computer-aided design (CAD) models or three dimensional, 3D, models are often employed to define objects to be manufactured. Tolerances and other requirements for the objects to be manufactured may also be obtained via product and manufacturing information (PMI). The manufacturing may be performed via machining operations performed by one or more machine tools. A cutting tool mounted in the machine tool is moved by the machine tool relative to a work piece, so that the cutting tool cuts away material from the work piece to form one or more geometric feature of the object to be manufactured.[0003]Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) is typically employed to decide how to manufacture the object defined by the CAD model. This is a complicated task involving many factors / parameters such as selecting machine...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

This patent aims to make it easier to manufacture objects by providing multiple options for how to machine certain features of the object. This reduces the complexity of the manufacturing process planning, resulting in a simpler and more efficient process. The technical effect of this patent is to make manufacturing more easily accessible.

Problems solved by technology

This is a complicated task involving many factors / parameters such as selecting machine tools, operation sequences (for example involving roughing, semi-finishing and finishing), operation strategies, fixtures for holding the work piece, cutting tools, tool paths, and cutting data (such as feed rate, cutting speed, and depth of cut).

This typically involves repeatedly defining a candidate set of factors / parameters and evaluating them in manufacturing simulations, which is both cumbersome and time consuming.

This typically involves repeatedly defining a candidate machine code and evaluating the code in manufacturing simulations, which is both cumbersome and time consuming.

Test runs and / or simulations may for example incur extra costs and / or cause delays.

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