Fanuc Corporation

Shizuaki Hayanagi

Masaki Seki

Takeshi Hosono

Takashi Takegahara

Koji Suzuki

Masatoshi Yoshizaki

Toru Matsunaka

Toru Matunaka

The original planar shape or developed shape of a product to be manufactured by bending is determined using a computer-aided design system. An operator operates a tablet unit to prepare, first and second projection drawings of, e.g., an L-shaped product, projected onto two planes parallel to the outside of first and second sides of the product, with a bending line in common. The computer-aided design system displays the first and second projection drawings on a display screen in accordance with shape data which defines the two projection drawings (S1). In response to the operator picking two vertices of each projection drawing on the side of the bending line using the tablet unit (S2, S3), the processor calculates distances of movement in the X- and Y-axis directions and the rotational angle of the second projection drawing required for the alignment of the two sets of vertices (S5). Based on these calculated values and the amount of expansion or contraction of the product material accompanying the bending work, calculated in accordance with input data indicative of the thickness, bending angle, and bending direction, the processor prepares shape data indicative of the product shape prior to bending and causes the developed product shape to be displayed on the display screen (7).

Developed product shape deciding method for a computer-aided design

A data drawing method which facilitates the checking of numerical control data for a polyhedron machining and is carried out by, for example, an automatic programming system. If a drawing mode is selected in which machining profiles and tool paths related to individual machining surfaces of a polyhedral material are displayed separately on a display screen according to the machining surfaces, and if a processor of the programming system determines that NC data obtained by executing a program statement read from a part program is related to any one of the machining surfaces, drawing areas corresponding in number to the faces of the polyhedral workpiece on the display screen are displayed, and a character string representing the machining surface and a material profile in a drawing area corresponding to the machining surface are displayed. Then, machining profiles and tool paths specified by the produced NC data are displayed in the drawing area to permit the operator's visual checking. Machining profiles and tool paths related to another machining surface are displayed in a different drawing area, whereby the machining profiles and the tool paths can be easily checked.

Growing community of inventors

Yamanashi, Japan

Shizuaki Hayanagi