Cutting
Automatic Cutting
Based on predefined rules, Automatic Cutting solutions are influenced by factors such as lead-in, corner treatment, part handling, cutting optimization, MicroJoints, material, and thickness.
AutoCut processes parts efficiently and consistently, saving time and giving standard solutions for production. You can control all the parameters in one place:
- Select automatic cutting of holes and/or parts
- Determine cut entry and exit preferences
- Automatically allocate MicroJoints
- Designate corner treatment
- Optimize cuts
- Avoid collisions
- Preset part handling
- Set special processing
- Use common cuts for nested sheets
AutoCut parameters are defined per machine.
This means that a workstation with several machines can have different settings for each one.
The Z options handle the distance between the head and the sheet; i.e., the movement of the head along the Z axis. You can define these parameters globally or set them specifically for the current entity/chain/contour:
- Laser head sensor – for piercing and for cutting
- Height of the head when it moves between holes or parts
- Height of the head when marking
cncKad supports head-down cutting, minimizing the cutting head movement along the Z axis, for these Trumpf machines:
- SprintLas, where the head rises only slightly and moves at an angled trajectory from one cut to another
- SprintLas+, where the head does not rise above the cutting height but remains at the cutting gap
You can define default settings for handling parts, thereby streamlining their automatic cutting with AutoCut by cncKad.
You can add an unlimited number of contour sizes defined by X and Y dimensions, and for each defined contour size, you assign an action for a part or a hole, depending on your machine’s abilities. You can preset defaults such as
- Place MicroJoints/WireJoints
- Set MicroJoint/ WireJoint width
- Assign Push Out
- Pick up the part or hole (scrap)
- Slice holes
- Stop the machine after specific processing
All part handling settings pertain to a specific material and thickness combination for a particular machine.
cncKad AutoCut provides many possibilities for automatic and manual placement of MicroJoints and WireJoints on entities to be processed.
You can place them:
- At corners and on part sides
- At designated intervals
- Using specific tools and approaches
You can then show/hide them, edit them, and delete them.
cncKad supports two directions of cutting: clockwise (CW) or counter clockwise (CCW). This is useful for plasma machines, when you must determine which side of the processed part should be straight.
You can also instruct cncKad to choose the best direction.
Cutting corners is often problematic; corners can be easily damaged if not handled carefully, ruining the entire part.
cncKad has several strategies to handle this issue and avoid burning the parts:
- Rounding: Rounds the sharp corners while cutting them.
- Loops: You can define the size of loops in the cutting tables and then add loops to the outer corners of the contour.
- Slow Down: Decelerates the head movement.
- Cool Down: Stops the machine for the specified time period to allow the material to cool down.
While running automatic processing, cncKad checks for conditions that need to be met in order to determine whether to apply corner treatment, and executes the treatment accordingly.
Corner treatment can be defined on three levels:
- For a corner
- For a cut
- For the entire sheet
This part was processed using loops, rounding, and cool down (marked in brown)
When the sheet is covered with protective coating or rust, cncKad can program the machine to make a low-power pass over the parts to burn it off, and then passes a second time with actual cutting. This provides cleaner cuts and less debris from the coating.
You can choose whether to perform all the vaporizations on a sheet at once, per part, or per cut.
cncKad lets you engrave the metal by burning it with the laser beam at low power.
cncKad supports cutting and engraving entities and texts written with Windows and True Type fonts. You can cut and engrave text such as part number or manufacturer name when placed on a part.
The example shows a part with both cutting and engraving of text.
You can create special processing profiles, and attach them to the current material and thickness combination.
With this type of processing you can create special cutting for particular cases of unusual round or polygon-shaped holes, which may be very large or very small. This causes the holes to be cut differently, according to geometry definitions.
The picture shows both round and polygon geometry with smaller cut holes.
cncKad
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Drafting
Using cncKad‘s extensive and powerful CAD commands, quickly and easily design components, or edit imported projects from customer systems.
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Punching
cncKad punching creates programs for your punch machine from CAD files and designs.
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Cutting
cncKad cutting creates programs for your cutting machine from CAD files and designs.
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Generating NC
cncKad creates efficient NC programs, taking machine capabilities and limitations into consideration.
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Simulating
Step-by-step, cncKad’s simulation displays the generated NC code, graphically showing the results of each operation.
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Milling
cncKad supports 2D milling for forming pockets and shaped contours.
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Drilling
cncKad supports drilling machines and combination machines with an extra drilling head.
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Busbar
cncKad provides full manual and automatic support for busbar parts.
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Tube Cutting
cncKad‘s easy-to-use tube cutting module offers fast and simple programming for CNC tube cutting machines.
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DNC
The DNC program offers up/download communication with the machine controller for remote batch loading and NC file extraction.
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Reports
Metalix offers detailed cncKad reports using a variety of production report templates.