Apparatus and method for managing distributing design and manufacturing information throughout a sheet metal production facility

Abstract

An apparatus and method is provided for managing and distributing design and manufacturing information throughout a factory in order to facilitate the production of components, such as bent sheet metal components. In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, the management and distribution of critical design and manufacturing information is achieved by storing and distributing the design and manufacturing information associated with each job. By replacing the traditional paper job set-up or work sheet with, for example, an electronically stored job sheet that can be accessed instantaneously from any location in the factory, the present invention improves the overall efficiency of the factory. In addition, through the various aspects and features of the invention, the organization and accessibility of part information and stored expert knowledge is improved.

Claims

What is claimed:

1. An intelligent facility for producing parts, said facility comprising:

a database that stores job information relating to the production of at least one part previously produced by said facility, said previous job information for each said previously produced part including previous design data relating to part design features of each said previously produced part;

a system for receiving current job information relating to a current part to be produced by said facility in response to a current job request, said current job information including proposed design data relating to proposed part design features of said current part; and

a system for searching said database to compare said previous job information design data stored with respect to each said previously produced part to said current job information design data, and to determine if said previous job information design data and said current job information design data have at least a predetermined degree of similarity such that a plan can be developed for producing a current part, in response to said current job request, which utilizes at least a part of said previous job information.

2. An intelligent facility according to claim 1, said previous design data and said proposed design data including part design features, said searching system comparing said previous job information design features and said current job information design features to determine whether each said previously produced part includes similar part design features to that of said current part.

3. An intelligent facility according to claim 2, said previous design data and said proposed design data further including part topology data.

4. An intelligent facility according to claim 3, wherein each said previously produced part and said current part comprise sheet metal parts.

5. An intelligent facility according to claim 1, said searching system having the capability to compare said previous job information design features and said current job information design features to determine whether each said previously produced part includes identical, similar, or different features to that of said current part.

6. An intelligent facility according to claim 1, wherein each said previously produced part and said current part comprise sheet metal parts.

7. An intelligent facility according to claim 1, further comprising a system for retrieving, from said database, previous job information determined to have said predetermined degree of similarity, and a system for distributing said retrieved previous job information to various locations throughout said facility so that a plan for producing said current part may be developed based on said retrieved previous job information.

8. An intelligent facility according to claim 7, said distributing system comprising a communications network connected to said database and a plurality of station modules provided throughout said facility, each of said station modules being connected to said communication network to receive said retrieved previous job information from said database.

9. An intelligent facility according to claim 8, each of said station modules comprising a network interface device for interfacing with said communication network and a display device for displaying said retrieved previous job information.

10. An intelligent facility according to claim 8, further comprising a server module connected to said communication network, said server module comprising an input device for entering said current job information and a network interface device for transferring said current job information, entered by said input device, to said database through said communication network.

11. An intelligent facility according to claim 7, wherein each said previously produced part and said current part comprise sheet metal parts, said retrieved previous job information comprising bend sequence and tooling information for producing said previously produced part determined to have said predetermined degree of similarity to said current part.

12. An intelligent facility according to claim 8, wherein said facility locations include a bending station, said bending station comprising one of said station modules and a bending machine for bending sheet metal parts based on a bending code, said retrieved previous job information further including a predetermined bending code for producing, with said bending machine, at least one of said previously produced parts determined to have said predetermined degree of similarity to said current part.

13. An intelligent facility according to claim 9, wherein each said previously produced part and said current part comprise sheet metal parts, said retrieved previous job information comprising bend model data for rendering at least one displayed image of each said previously produced part, said display device of each of said station modules rendering said image based on said bend model data to facilitate the development of said plan for producing said current part.

14. An intelligent facility according to claim 13, said bend model data comprising data for displaying a plurality of displayed images of said previously produced part, including a 2-D image and a 3-D image of said previously produced part, said display devices of each of said station modules being located throughout said facility and being capable of selectively rendering said 2-D image or said 3-D image of said previously produced part.

15. An intelligent facility according to claim 1, wherein said previous job information further comprise manufacturing information relating to each said previously produced part, and wherein said current job information further comprises proposed manufacturing information relating to said current part, said searching system comprising means for comparing said manufacturing information of said previous job information and said manufacturing information of said current job information to determine whether said predetermined degree of similarity exists such that said plan can be developed for producing said current part based on at least a part of said previous job information.

16. An intelligent facility according to claim 15, wherein said manufacturing information comprises machine set-up data, said machine set-up data comprising at least one of machine type data, tool set-up data, and backgaging data.

17. An intelligent facility according to claim 1, further comprising a system for developing bend model data based on said current job information when said searching system determines that said predetermined degree of similarity does not exist, said bend model data comprising 2-D coordinate space data for representing said current part in 2-D coordinate space and 3-D coordinate space data for representing said current part in 3-D coordinate space.

18. An intelligent facility according to claim 17, wherein said current job information comprises said 2-D coordinate space data, said developing system being adapted to develop said 3-D coordinate space data by performing a folding operation on said said 2-D coordinate space data.

19. An intelligent facility according to claim 17, wherein said current job information comprises said 3-D coordinate space data, said developing system being adapted to develop said 2-D coordinate space data by performing an unfolding operation on said 3-D coordinate space data.

20. A method for the intelligent production of parts in a facility, said method comprising:

storing, in a data storage device, job information relating to the production of at least one part previously produced by said facility, said previous job information for each said previously produced part including previous design data relating to part design features of each of said previously produced part;

receiving current job information relating to a current part to be produced by said facility in response to a current job request, said current job information including proposed design data relating to proposed part design features of said current part;

searching said data storage device to compare said previous job information design data stored with respect to each said previously produced part to said current job information design data; and

determining if said previous job information design data and said current job information design data have at least a predetermined degree of similarity such that a plan can be developed for producing a current part, in response to said current job request, which utilizes at least part of said previous job information.

21. A method according to claim 20, said previous design data and said proposed design data including part design features, wherein said searching of said data storage device comprises comparing said previous job information design features and said current job information design features and wherein said determining comprises deciding whether each said previously produced part includes similar part design features to that of said current part based on the results of said searching.

22. A method according to claim 21, said previous design data and said proposed design data further including part topology data.

23. A method according to claim 22, wherein each said previously produced part and said current part comprise sheet metal parts.

24. A method according to claim 20, wherein said searching includes comparing said previous job information design features and said current job information design features and said determining includes determining whether each said previously produced part includes identical, similar, or different features to that of said current part based on the results of said searching.

25. A method according to claim 20, wherein each said previously produced part and said current part comprise sheet metal parts.

26. A method according to claim 20, wherein previous job information determined to have said predetermined degree of similarity is retrieved from said database and distributed to various locations throughout said facility so that a plan for producing said current part may be developed based on said retrieved previous job information.

27. A method according to claim 26, wherein said retrieved previous job information is distributed over a communications network connected to said database and to a plurality of station modules provided throughout said facility, each of said station modules being connected to said communication network to receive said retrieved previous job information from said database.

28. A method according to claim 27, further comprising interfacing each of said station modules with said communication network and using a display device to display said retrieved previous job information.

29. A method according to claim 27, further comprising entering said current job information at a server module connected to said communication network and transferring said current job information, entered at said server module, to said database through said communication network.

30. A method according to claim 26, wherein each said previously produced part and said current part comprise sheet metal parts, said retrieved previous job information comprising bend sequence and tooling information for producing said previously produced part determined to have said predetermined degree of similarity to said current part.

31. A method according to claim 30, wherein said facility locations include a bending station, said bending station comprising one of said station modules and a bending machine for bending sheet metal parts based on a bending code, said retrieved previous job information further including a predetermined bending code for producing, with said bending machine, one of said previously produced parts determined to have said predetermined degree of similarity to said current part.

32. A method according to claim 28, wherein each said previously produced part and said current part comprise sheet metal parts, said retrieved previous job information comprising bend model data for rendering at least one displayed image of each said previously produced part, said display device of each of said station modules rendering said image based on said bend model data to facilitate the development of said plan for producing said current part.

33. A method according to claim 32, said bend model data comprising data for displaying a plurality of displayed images of said previously produced part, including a 2-D image and a 3-D image of said previously produced part, said display devices of each of said station modules being located throughout said facility and selectively rendering said 2-D image or said 3-D image of said previously produced part.

34. A method according to claim 20, wherein said previous job information further comprise manufacturing information relating to each said previously produced part, and wherein said current job information further comprises proposed manufacturing information relating to said current part, said determining comprises comparing said manufacturing information of said previous job information and said manufacturing information of said current job information to determine whether said predetermined degree of similarity exists such that said plan can be developed for producing said current part based on at least a part of said previous job information.

35. A method according to claim 34, wherein said manufacturing information comprises machine set-up data, said machine set-up data comprising at least one of machine type data, tool set-up data, and backgaging data.

36. An intelligent production system, comprising:

a data storage device for storing previous job information of previously produced parts, said previous job information including previous design data relating to part design features of each of said previously produced parts;

means for receiving current job information relating to a current job request to produce a new part, said current job information including proposed design data relating to proposed part design features of the new part of said current job request; and

means for searching said data storage device and for comparing said previous job information with said current job information to identify said previously produced parts that have a predetermined degree of similarity to the new part of said current job request.

37. An intelligent production system according to claim 36, further comprising means for retrieving, from said data storage device, previous job information identified to have said predetermined degree of similarity, and means for distributing said retrieved previous job information to various locations so that a plan for producing the new part of said current job request may be produced based, at least in part, on said retrieved previous job information.

38. An intelligent production system according to claim 37, said means for distributing comprising a communications network connected to said data storage device and a plurality of station modules, each of said station modules being connected to said communication network to receive said retrieved previous job information from said data storage device.

39. An intelligent production system according to claim 38, each of said station modules comprising a network interface device for interfacing with said communication network and a display device for displaying said retrieved previous job information.

40. An intelligent production system according to claim 38, further comprising a server module connected to said communication network, said server module comprising an input device for entering said current job information and a network interface device for transferring said current job information, entered by said input device, to said data storage device through said communication network.

41. An intelligent production system according to claim 36, said searching means comprising means for performing a feature extraction operation on said previous job information and said current job information to determine the existence of predetermined features in each of said previously produced parts and in the new part of said current job request, said means for performing a feature extraction operation producing feature extraction data for each of said previously produced parts and the new part of said current job request.

42. An intelligent production system according to claim 41, further comprising means for comparing the feature extraction data with predefined feature extraction data stored in a feature extraction library to identify fundamental features in each of said previously produced parts and in the part of said current job request.

43. An intelligent production system according to claim 42, further comprising means for performing a feature relation operation to determine the relationship between the fundamental features identified in each of said previously produced parts and in the part of said current job request.

44. An intelligent production system according to claim 43, further comprising means for developing search keys for each of said previously produced parts and search keys for the new part of said current job request based on the fundamental features identified and the determined relationships among the fundamental features of each part.

45. An intelligent production system according to claim 44, said searching means further comprising means for performing a cooperative search of said data storage device to compare the search keys developed for the new part of said current job request and the search keys developed for each of said previously produced parts, said means for performing a cooperative search including means for identifying previously produced parts that have search keys identical to the search keys of the new part of said current job request, and for identifying previously produced parts that have similar search keys similar to the search keys of the new part of said current job request.

46. An intelligent production system according to claim 45, further comprising means for executing a selected parts search to select, among said previously produced parts identified by said cooperative search means, a predetermined number of previously produced parts that have identical or the most similar search keys to the search keys of the new part of said current job request.

47. An intelligent production system according to claim 46, further comprising means for calculating a similarity index to rank each of said previously produced parts selected by said selected parts search means based on the degree of similarity of features and matching search keys with the part of said current job request.

48. An intelligent production system according to claim 36, wherein said previous job information further comprise manufacturing information relating to each of said previously produced parts, and wherein said current job information further comprises proposed manufacturing information relating to said new part, said searching means comprising means for comparing said manufacturing information of said previous job information and said manufacturing information of said current job information to identify said previously produced parts that have said predetermined degree of similarity with said new part.

49. An intelligent production facility according to claim 48, wherein said manufacturing information comprises machine set-up data, said machine set-up data comprising at least one of machine type data, tool set-up data, and backgaging data.

50. A method for performing a similar part search, said method comprising the steps of:

storing previous job information of previously produced parts in a data storage device, said previous job information including previous design data relating to part design features of each of said previously produced parts;

receiving current job information relating to a current job request to produce a new part, said current job information including proposed design data relating to proposed part design features of the part of said current job request; and

searching said data storage device and comparing said previous job information with said current job information to identify said previously produced parts that have a predetermined degree of similarity to the new part of said current job request.

51. A method according to claim 50, further comprising retrieving, from said data storage device, previous job information relating to previously produced parts determined to have said predetermined degree of similarity and distributing said retrieved previous job information to various locations in a production facility so that a plan for producing the new part of said current job request may be developed based, at least in part, on said retrieved previous job information.

52. A method according to claim 51, wherein said distributing distributes said retrieved previous job information over a communications network connected to said data storage device and to a plurality of station modules provided throughout said facility, each of said station modules being connected to said communication network to receive said retrieved previous job information from said data storage device.

53. A method according to claim 50, wherein said previous design data and said proposed design data include part topology data, said part topology data representing the location and geometric relationships of surfaces and bendlines of each part.

54. A method according to claim 50, further comprising performing a feature extraction operation on said previous job information and said current job information to determine the existence of predetermined features in each of said previously produced parts and in the new part of said current job request, said feature extraction operation producing feature extraction data for each of said previously produced parts and the part of said current job request.

55. A method according to claim 54, further comprising comparing the feature extraction data with predefined feature extraction data stored in a feature extraction library to identify fundamental features in each of said previously produced parts and in the new part of said current job request.

56. A method according to claim 55, further comprising performing a feature relation operation to determine the relationship between the fundamental features identified in each of said previously produced parts and in the new part of said current job request.

57. A method according to claim 56, wherein the relationship between the identified fundamental features of a part is defined based on the distance between the identified fundamental features.

58. A method according to claim 57, wherein the distance between two fundamental features of a part is determined based on the number of bendlines between base faces of the two fundamental features.

59. A method according to claim 56, further comprising developing search keys for each of said previously produced parts and search keys for the new part of said current job request based on the fundamental features identified and the determined relationship between the fundamental features of each part.

60. A method according to claim 59, wherein said searching includes performing a cooperative search of said data storage device to compare the search keys developed for the new part of said current job request and the search keys developed for each of said previously produced parts, said cooperative search including identifying previously produced parts that have identical search keys to the search keys of the new part of said current job request and identifying previously produced parts that have similar search keys to the search keys of the new part of said current job request.

61. A method according to claim 60, further comprising executing a selected parts search to select, among said previously produced parts identified by said cooperative search, a predetermined number of previously produced parts that have identical or the most similar search keys to the search keys of the new part of said current job request.

62. A method according to claim 61, further comprising calculating a similarity index to rank each of said previously produced parts selected by said selected parts search based on the degree of similarity of features and matching search keys with the new part of said current job request.

63. A method according to claim 62, further comprising displaying said similarity index so that previous job information relating to said previously produced parts selected by said selected parts search may be selectively accessed from said data storage device to develop a plan for producing the new part of said current job request.

64. A method according to claim 50, wherein said previous job information further comprise manufacturing information relating to each of said previously produced parts, and wherein said current job information further comprises proposed manufacturing information relating to said new part, said searching comprising comparing said manufacturing information of said previous job information and said manufacturing information of said current job information to identify said previously produced parts that have said predetermined degree of similarity with said new part.

65. A method according to claim 64, wherein said manufacturing information comprises machine set-up data, said machine set-up data comprising at least one of machine type data, tool set-up data, and backgaging data.

66. A method according to claim 50, further comprising the step of developing bend model data based on said current job information, said bend model data comprising 2-D coordinate space data for representing said current part in 2-D coordinate space and 3-D coordinate space data for representing said current part in 3-D coordinate space.

67. A method according to claim 66, wherein said current job information comprises said 2-D coordinate space data, said developing including the step of performing a folding operation on said 2-D coordinate space data to develop said 3-D coordinate space data.

68. A method according to claim 66, wherein said current job information comprises said 3-D coordinate space data, said developing including the step of performing an unfolding operation on said 3-D coordinate space data to develop said 2-D coordinate space data.

69. An intelligent facility for producing parts, said facility comprising:

a data storage device for storing previous data representing a plurality of predetermined part design features relating to parts previously produced by said facility;

a data receiving system for receiving proposed data representing a plurality of predetermined part design features relating to a part to be produced by said facility; and

a comparing system for making a comparison of the stored previous data with the received proposed data relating to said part to be produced, and for using the results of said comparison to determine whether at least one of said previously produced parts and said part to be produced are identical, similar, or different.

70. An intelligent facility according to claim 69, further comprising a system for retrieving, from said data storage device, previous data relating to previously produced parts which have been determined to be either identical or similar to said part to be produced, and a system for distributing said retrieved data to various locations throughout said facility so that a plan for producing said part to be produced may be developed based on said retrieved data.

71. An intelligent facility according to claim 70, said distributing system comprising a communications network connected to said data storage device and a plurality of station modules provided throughout said facility, each of said station modules being connected to said communications network to receive said retrieved data from said data storage device.

72. An intelligent facility according to claim 70, wherein when it is determined that at least one of said previously produced parts is identical to said part to be produced, said retrieved system is adapted to retrieve data relating to said at least one identical previously produced part and said distributing system is adapted to distribute said retrieved data so that said retrieved data may be used to produce said part to be produced.

73. An intelligent facility according to claim 70, further comprising a system for editing said previous data, such that when it is determined that at least one of said previously produced parts is similar to said part to be produced, said previous data relating to said at least one similar previously produced part is retrieved and edited by said editing system so that the edited data may be used to produce said part to be produced.

74. An intelligent facility according to claim 70, further comprising a system for developing a plan for producing said part to be produced based on the received data, so that when it is determined that all of said previously produced parts are different from said part to be produced, said received data is used by said developing system to develop said plan for producing said part to be produced.

75. An intelligent facility according to claim 70, wherein said previous data further comprises manufacturing information relating to each of said previously produced parts, and wherein said received proposed data further comprises proposed manufacturing information relating to said part to be produced, said comparing system be adapted to compare said manufacturing information of said previous data and said manufacturing information of said received proposed data to determine whether at least one of said previously produced parts and said part to be produced are identical, similar, or different.

76. An intelligent facility according to claim 75, wherein said manufacturing information comprises machine set-up data, said machine set-up data comprising at least one of machine type data, tool set-up data, and backgaging data.

77. An intelligent facility according to claim 76, wherein the stored previous data and the received proposed data comprise a part reference number, said comparing system comparing the part reference number of the stored previous data and the part reference number of the received proposed data to determine whether at least one of said previously produced parts and said part to be produced are identical or different.

78. A method for use in an intelligent part production facility, said method comprising the steps of:

storing, in a data storage device, previous data representing a plurality of predetermined part design features relating to parts previously produced by said facility;

receiving proposed data representing a plurality of predetermined part design features relating to a part to be produced by said facility;

comparing the stored previous data with the received proposed data relating to said part to be produced; and

determining, through the comparison of said stored previous data and said received proposed data, whether said at least one of said previously produced parts and said part to be produced are identical, similar, or different.

79. A method according to claim 78, further comprising retrieving, from said data storage device, data relating to said previously produced parts determined to be either identical or similar to said part to be produced, and distributing said retrieved data to various locations throughout said facility so that a plan for producing said part to be produced may be developed based upon said retrieved data.

80. A method according to claim 79, wherein said retrieved data is distributed over a communications network connected to said data storage device and to a plurality of station modules provided throughout said facility, each of said station modules being connected to said communication network to receive said retrieved data from said data storage device.

81. A method according to claim 79, further comprising retrieving and using said data relating to said identical previously produced part to produce said part to be produced when it is determined that at least one of said previously produced parts is identical to said part to be produced.

82. A method according to claim 79, further comprising editing said data relating to said previously produced parts, such that when it is determined that at least one of said previously produced parts is similar to said part to be produced, said data relating to said similar previously produced part is retrieved and edited so that the edited data may be used to produce said part to be produced.

83. A method according to claim 79, further comprising developing said plan for producing said part to be produced with new data when it is determined that all of said previously produced parts are different from said part to be produced.

84. A method according to claim 79, further comprising editing said previous data, such that when it is determined that at least one of said previously produced parts is similar to said part to be produced, said previous data relating to said at least one similar previously produced part is retrieved and edited so that the edited data may be used to produce said part to be produced.

85. A method according to claim 78, wherein said previous data further comprises manufacturing information relating to each of said previously produced parts, and wherein said received proposed data further comprises proposed manufacturing information relating to said part to be produced, said determining comprising comparing said manufacturing information of said previous data and said manufacturing information of said received proposed data to determine whether at least one of said previously produced parts and said part to be produced are identical, similar, or different.

86. A method according to claim 85, wherein said manufacturing information comprises machine set-up data, said machine set-up data comprising at least one of machine type data, tool set-up data, and backgaging data.

87. A method according to claim 78, wherein the stored previous data and the received proposed data comprise a part reference number, said method comprising comparing the part reference number of the stored previous and the part reference number of the received proposed data to determine whether at least one of said previously produced parts and said part to be produced are identical or different.

88. A method according to claim 78, further comprising the step of developing bend model data based on said received proposed data, said bend model data comprising 2-D coordinate space data for representing said part to be produced in 2-D coordinate space and 3-D coordinate space data for representing said part to be produced in 3-D coordinate space.

89. A method according to claim 88, wherein said received proposed data information comprises said 2-D coordinate space data, said developing including the step of performing a folding operation on said 2-D coordinate space data to develop said 3-D coordinate space data.

90. A method according to claim 88, wherein said received proposed data comprises said 3-D coordinate space data, said developing including the step of performing an unfolding operation on said 3-D coordinate space data to develop said 2-D coordinate space data.

Description

MICROFICHE APPENDIX

This application includes a microfiche appendix for Appendices A-L. The microfiche appendix consists of 5 sheets, 406 frames.

RELATED APPLICATION DATA

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/016,958, filed May 6, 1996, entitled "Apparatus and Method for Managing and Distributing Design and Manufacturing Information Throughout a Sheet Metal Production Facility," the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent disclosure, as it appears in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise the copyright owner reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to the field of manufacturing and to the production of components, such as sheet metal components. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus and method for managing and distributing design and manufacturing information throughout a factory in order to facilitate the production of bent sheet metal components.

2. Background Information

Traditionally, the production of bent sheet metal components at, for example, a progressive sheet metal manufacturing facility, involves a series of production and manufacturing stages. The first stage is a design stage during which a sheet metal part design is developed based on a customer's specifications. A customer will typically place an order for a particular sheet metal component to be produced at the facility. The customer's order will usually include the necessary product and design information so that the component may be manufactured by the factory. This information may include, for example, the geometric dimensions of the part, the material required for the part (e.g., steel, stainless steel, or aluminum), special forming information, the batch size, the delivery date, etc. The sheet metal part requested by the customer may be designed and produced for a wide variety of applications. For example, the produced component may ultimately be used as an outer casing for a computer, an electrical switchboard, an armrest in an airplane, or part of a door panel for a car.

During the design stage, a sheet metal part design may be developed by the design office of the manufacturing facility using an appropriate Computer-Aided Design (CAD) system. Based on a customer's specifications, a 2-dimensional (2-D) model of the sheet metal part may be developed by a programmer with the CAD system. Typically, a customer will provided a blueprint containing one or more drawings of the component and the critical geometric dimensions of the part. The blueprint may also indicate any special forming or marking to be included in the part, as well as the location of holes or other types of openings on the surface(s) of the sheet metal part. The design programmer will often use this blueprint to develop a 2-D model on the CAD system. The 2-D model may include a flat view and one or more other perspective views of the sheet metal part, with bending line and/or dimensional information.

Before actual bending of the sheet metal part takes place, the part must first be punched and/or cut from initial stock material. Computer Numerical Control (CNC) or Numerical Control (NC) systems are typically used to control and operate punch presses and plasma or laser cutting machinery to process the stock material. In order to facilitate processing of the stock material, a Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM) system or CAD/CAM system can be used by a design programmer to generate control code based on the 2-D model. The control code may comprise a part program that is imported to and utilized by the punch press and/or cutting machinery to punch or cut the sheet metal component from the stock material.

The next stage in the production process is a bending plan stage. During this stage, a bending plan is developed by a bending operator at the shop floor. The operator will normally be provided with the blueprint or 2-D drawing of the component, along with one or more samples of the cut or punched stock material. With these materials, the bending operator will develop a bending plan which defines the tooling to be used and the sequence of bends to be performed. The bending workstation may include CNC metal bending machinery, such as a CNC press brake, that enables the operator to enter data and develop a bending code or program based on the bending plan.

Once the bending plan is developed, the operator will set up the workstation for initial testing of the bending sequence. During this testing stage, the punched or cut stock material will be manually loaded into the press brake and the press brake will be operated to execute the programmed sequence of bends on the workpiece. The operator will analyze the final bent sheet metal part and inspect it for conformance with the customer's specification. Based on the results of the initial runs of the press brake, the operator may modify the bending sequence by editing the bending program. The operator may also provide feedback to the design office so that the sheet metal part design can be appropriately modified. Further testing will typically be conducted until the bent sheet metal component is within the required design specifications.

One of the final stages in the production process is the bending stage. After the bending plan has been developed and tested, the bending operator will set up the required tooling at the bending station and operate the press brake based on the bending plan and the stored bending program or code. Job scheduling is also performed in order to ensure that the necessary amount of punched or cut stock material will be available on time at the bending station, and so that other jobs will be completed by the requested delivery dates. Job scheduling may be developed or modified by a shop floor foreman during the earlier stages of the production process and/or concurrently throughout the entire process. After the final bent sheet metal parts have been produced, the parts may then be assembled and packaged for shipping to the customer.

The conventional production and manufacturing process described above suffers from several drawbacks and disadvantages. For example, although the design and manufacturing data for each customer's order is normally archived physically (e.g., by paper in a file cabinet) or electronically (e.g., by storing on a disk or magnetic tape), such data are normally stored separately and not easily retrievable. Further, in most factory settings, the distribution of critical job information takes the form of a paper job or work sheet that is distributed throughout the factory floor. As a result, data is often lost or damaged, and it is difficult to search for both the design and manufacturing data relating to a previous or similar job. In addition, due to the inefficient manner in which the data is stored, valuable time is lost in attempting to distribute the design and manufacturing information to the shop floor and to other locations throughout the factory. Considerable manufacturing time is also lost during the development of the sheet metal part design and bending plan, since the development of the part design and bending plan is primarily performed by the design programmer and bending operator, and relies heavily on the individual's knowledge, skill and experience.

In recent years, there have been developments and attempts to improve the conventional sheet metal manufacturing process and to improve the efficiency of the overall process. For example, the use and development of 2-D and 3-dimensional (3-D) modeling in commercially available CAD/CAM systems has facilitated and improved the production process and modeling of bent sheet metal components. The design programmer and operator can now utilize both the 2-D and 3-D representations to better understand the geometry of the part and more efficiently develop a part design and bending code sequence. The ability to store and transfer data electronically has also improved the flow of information from the design office to locations on the shop floor. With the advancement of computers and data communication networks, it is no longer necessary to search through a cabinet or file of old paper tapes or magnetic disks.

Despite such advancements, there is still a need to improve the organization and flow of design and manufacturing information throughout the factory environment. For example, conventional manufacturing systems do not logically associate both critical design and manufacturing information associated with each customer's order so that it may be easily accessed and retrieved from any area in the factory. Previous systems also fail to provide the ability to search previous job information based on various criteria, such as the features and attributes of the sheet metal component. The ability to search and retrieve previous job information based on, for example, an identical or similar part search, would greatly enhance the overall production process and reduce the required manufacturing time for future jobs.

Past attempts also fail to facilitate the development of the sheet metal part design and bending plan by the design programmer and shop floor operator. While the introduction of 2-D and 3-D modeling systems have enabled the designer to have a better understanding of the shape and geometry of the part, such systems have not reduced the burdens placed on the design programmer and shop floor operator. For example, such systems have not enabled the design programmer to easily convert an existing 2-D CAD model into a 3-D representation. In addition, while 2-D and/or 3-D drawings of the component may be provided to the shop floor operator to assist in the development of the bending plan, the operator must still determine and develop the tooling requirements and bending sequence by hand and/or experimentation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing, the present invention, through one or more of its various aspects, embodiments and/or specific features or sub-components thereof, is provided to bring about one or more objects and advantages, such as those specifically noted below.

A general object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method for managing and distributing design and manufacturing information throughout a factory in order to facilitate the production of components, such as bent sheet metal components.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method that prevents the loss or destruction of critical job information, and that enhances the efficiency and organization of stored expert knowledge at, for example, a progressive sheet metal production facility.

Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus and method for logically storing both the design and manufacturing information for each customer's order, so that it may be easily accessed and retrieved from any area in the factory.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method for managing and distributing design and manufacturing information, wherein the job data is stored at a central database or file server in a logical fashion so that it may be easily searched and retrieved from any location throughout the factory. The job data may provide not only the design and manufacturing information associated with the job, but also the actual bend code for executing the required bending operations.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method for searching previous job information, including design and manufacturing information, based on various search criteria. The search criteria may include, for example, the basic features and attributes of the sheet metal component to be manufactured, so that previous job information relating to an identical or similar part can be utilized to reduce the overall manufacturing time of future jobs.

Another object of the present invention is to replace the traditional paper job or work sheet, associated with each customer's order, with an electronic job sheet that can be instantaneously accessed from any location in the factory. The electronic job sheet may be displayed at any location and include critical design and manufacturing information, including the 2-D and/or 3-D model view of the component, the tooling selection, the optimum bending sequence, the required staging information, and the bar code or identification number associated with the job. The electronic job sheet may also include an audio and/or video portion recorded by a bending operator to indicate, for example, any special instructions or procedures that may be helpful when running the same job or a similar job again in the future.

Another object of the invention is to shorten the time required to analyze a part drawing by providing 2-D and 3-D computerized views of the sheet metal part. Various viewing modes may be provided, including a solid 3-D viewing mode, a 3-D wire frame viewing mode, a 2-D flat screen viewing mode, and an orthographic viewing mode. Different viewing functions may also be provided, including zooming, panning, rotating and auto-dimensioning, to facilitate analysis of the sheet metal part.

A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus and method that facilitates the development of the sheet metal part design and bending plan by the design programmer and shop floor operator. For example, it is an object of the present invention to enable the design programmer to easily develop a 3-D representation of the component from an existing 2-D model. It is also another object of the invention to provide a graphical user interface to shorten the time required to develop the bending plan and programmed bending code.

The present invention, therefore, is directed to an intelligent facility for producing parts and a method for the production of parts in such a facility. A database is provided that stores job information relating to the production of parts previously produced by the facility. The previous job information for each of the previously produced parts may include previous design data relating to features of each the previously produced parts. In addition, a system may be provided for receiving current job information relating to a current part to be produced by the facility in response to a current job request. The current job information may include proposed design data relating to proposed features of the current part.

The intelligent facility may also include a system for searching the database to compare the previous job information design data stored with respect to each of the previously produced parts with the current job information design data. The search and comparison noted above may be performed to determine if the previous job information design data and the current job information design data have at least a predetermined degree of similarity, such that a plan can be developed for producing a current part, in response to a current job request, which utilizes at least a part of the previous job information.

In accordance with an aspect of the invention, each of the previously produced parts and the current part may comprise sheet metal parts, and the previous design data of the previously produced parts and the proposed design data of the new part may include part topology data. In addition, the searching system of the invention may compare the previous job information design features and the current job information design features to determine whether the previously produced parts include identical, similar, or different features to that of the current part.

The intelligent facility may further include a system for retrieving, from the database, previous job information determined to have a predetermined degree of similarity, and a system for distributing the retrieved previous job information to various locations throughout the facility so that a plan for producing the current part may be developed based on the retrieved previous job information. The retrieved previous job information may comprise bend sequence and tooling information for producing at least one of the previously produced parts. The distributing system may include a communications network connected to the database and a plurality of station modules provided throughout the facility. Each of the station modules may be connected to the communication network to receive the retrieved previous job information from the database. Each of the station modules may also include a network interface device for interfacing with the communication network and a display device for displaying the retrieved previous job information.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the intelligent facility may further include a server module that is connected to the communication network. The server module may include an input device for entering the current job information and a network interface device for transferring the current job information, entered by the input device, to the database through the communication network. Further, the facility locations may include a bending station having a station module and a bending machine for bending sheet metal parts based on a bending code. Also, the retrieved previous job information may further include a predetermined bending code for producing at least one of the previously produced parts with the bending machine.

If the previously produced parts and the current part to be produced by the facility include sheet metal parts, then the retrieved previous job information may also comprise bend model data for rendering at least one displayed image of the previously produced part that is similar to the current part to be produced. The display device of each of the station modules may render the image of each previously produced part based on the bend model data to facilitate the development of a plan to produce the current part. In particular, the bend model data may comprise data for displaying a plurality of displayed images of the previously produced part, including a 2-D image and 3-D image of the previously produced part. The display devices of each of the station modules may selectively render a 2-D image or a 3-D image of the previously produced part based on the bend model data.

The previous job information may also include manufacturing information relating to each previously produced part, and the current job information may include manufacturing information relating to the part to be produced. Further, the searching system may be adapted to search the database to additionally compare the manufacturing information when determining if the previous job information and the current job information have a predetermined degree of similarity. The manufacturing information may include machine set-up data, including at least one of machine type data, tooling data, and backgaging setting data.

According to a method for the production of parts in an intelligent parts facility, the method may comprise storing, in a data storage device, job information relating to the production of parts previously produced by the facility. The previous job information for each of the previously produced parts may include design data relating to features of each the previously produced parts. In addition, the method may include receiving current job information relating to a current part to be produced by the facility in response to a current job request. The current job information may include design data relating to proposed features of the current part.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the method may include searching the data storage device to compare the previous job information design data stored with respect to each previously produced part with the current job information design data. The method may also include the step of determining if the previous job information design data and the current job information design data have at least a predetermined degree of similarity, such that a plan can be generated for producing a current part, in response to the current job request, which utilizes at least part of the previous job information.

The method may further include other steps, including the step of retrieving, from the database, previous job information determined to have a predetermined degree of similarity with the current part to be produced. In addition, a distributing step may be provided to distribute the retrieved previous job information to various locations throughout the facility, so that a plan for producing the current part may be developed based on the retrieved previous job information. In the distributing step, the retrieved previous job information may be distributed over a communications network connected to the database and to a plurality of station modules provided throughout the facility. Each of the station modules may be connected to the communication network to receive the retrieved previous job information from the database.

According to another aspect of the invention, an intelligent production system and a method for performing a similar part search are provided. The intelligent production system may include a data storage device for storing previous job information of previously produced parts. The previous job information may include previous design data relating to features of each of the previously produced parts. The system may also include means for receiving current job information relating to a current job request to produce a new part, wherein the current job information includes proposed design data relating to proposed features of the new part of the current job request.

In accordance with the invention, the system may further include means for searching the data storage device and for comparing the previous job information with the current job information to identify the previously produced parts that have a predetermined degree of similarity to the new part of the current job request. Means may be provided for retrieving, from the data storage device, previous job information determined to have a predetermined degree of similarity. Means may also be provided for distributing the retrieved previous job information to various locations so that a plan for producing the new part of the current job request may be produced based, at least in part, on the retrieved previous job information.

The intelligent production system may also include a communications network connected to the data storage device and a plurality of station modules. Each of the station modules may be connected to the communication network to receive the retrieved previous job information from the data storage device. Each of the station modules may also comprise a network interface device for interfacing with the communication network and a display device for displaying the retrieved previous job information. A server module may also be provided that is connected to the communication network. The server module may comprise an input device for entering the current job information and a network interface device for transferring the current job information, entered by the input device, to the data storage device through the communication network.

The present invention is also directed to a method for performing a similar part search. The method may include the steps of storing previous job information of previously produced parts in a data storage device, and receiving current job information relating to a current job request to produce a new part. The method may also include the steps of searching the data storage device and comparing the previous job information with the current job information to identify the previously produced parts that have a predetermined degree of similarity to the new part of the current job request.

In accordance with an aspect of the invention, the method for performing a similar part search may further include performing a feature extraction operation on the previous job information and the current job information to determine the existence of predetermined features in each of the previously produced parts and in the new part of the current job request. The feature extraction operation may produce feature extraction data for each of the previously produced parts and the new part of the current job request. The step of comparing the feature extraction data with predefined feature extraction data stored in a feature extraction library may also be provided in order to identify fundamental features in each of the previously produced parts and in the part of the current job request.

The method may further comprise the step of performing a feature relation operation to determine the relationship between the fundamental features identified in each of the previously produced parts and in the new part of the current job request. The relationship between the fundamental features of a part may be defined based on the distance between the fundamental features. For example, the distance between two fundamental features of a part may be determined based on the number of bendlines between the base faces of the two fundamental features.

As part of the similar part search, the method may also comprise developing search keys for each of the previously produced parts and search keys for the new part of the current job request based on the fundamental features identified and the determined relationship between the fundamental features of each part. In addition, the step of searching may include performing a cooperative search of the data storage device to compare the search keys developed for the new part of the current job request and the search keys developed for each of the previously produced parts. The step of performing the cooperative search may include identifying previously produced parts that have identical search keys to the search keys of the new part of the current job request, and identifying previously produced parts that have similar search keys to the search keys of the new part of the current job request.

A selected parts search may also be executed to select, among the previously produced parts identified by the cooperative search, a predetermined number of previously produced parts that have identical or the most similar search keys to the search keys of the new part of the current job request. A similarity index may be calculated to rank each of the previously produced parts selected by the selected parts search based on the degree of similarity of features and matching search keys with the new part of the current job request. The similarity index may be displayed so that previous job information relating to the previously produced parts selected by the selected parts search may be selectively accessed from the data storage device to develop a plan for producing the new part of the current job request.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, an intelligent facility for producing parts and a method for use in such a facility are provided. The facility may comprise a data storage device for storing data representing a plurality of predetermined features relating to parts previously produced by the facility. A data receiving system may also be provided for receiving data representing a plurality of predetermined features relating to a part to be produced by the facility. The facility may also include a comparing system for making a comparison of the stored data relating to at least one of the previously produced parts with the received data relating to the part to be produced, and for using the results of the comparison to determine whether the at least one of the previously produced parts and the part to be produced are identical, similar, or different.

According to the intelligent facility of the invention, a system for retrieving, from the data storage device, data relating to the previously produced parts determined to be either identical or similar to the part to be produced is provided. The facility also includes a system for distributing the retrieved data to various locations throughout the facility so that a plan for producing the part to be produced may be developed based on the retrieved data.

The distributing system of the invention may comprise a communications network connected to the data storage device and to a plurality of station modules provided throughout the facility. Each of the station modules may be connected to the communication network to receive the retrieved data from the data storage device. When it is determined that at least one of the previously produced parts is identical to the part to be produced, the data relating to the identical previously produced part may be retrieved by the retrieving system and distributed by the distributing system so that the data may be used to produce the part to be produced.

The intelligent facility may further comprise a system for editing the data relating to the previously produced parts, such that when it is determined that at least one of the previously produced parts is similar to the part to be produced, the data relating to the similar previously produced part is retrieved and edited by the editing system so that the edited data may be used to produce the part to be produced. Further, a system for developing a plan for producing the part to be produced based on the received data may be provided, so that when it is determined that all of the previously produced parts are different from the part to be produced, the received data is used by the developing system to develop the plan for producing the part to be produced.

In accordance with a method for use in an intelligent part production facility, the method may include the step of storing, in a data storage device, data representing a plurality of predetermined features relating to parts previously produced by the facility. The method may also include the steps of receiving data representing a plurality of predetermined features relating to a part to be produced by the facility, and comparing the stored data relating to at least one of the previously produced parts with the received data relating to the part to be produced. Based on the results of the comparing step, the method may determine whether previously produced parts and the part to be produced are identical, similar, or different.

The method may further include retrieving, from the data storage device, data relating to the previously produced parts determined to be either identical or similar to the part to be produced is provided. The facility also includes a system for distributing the retrieved data to various locations throughout the facility so that a plan for producing the part to be produced may be developed based on the retrieved data. When it is determined that at least one of the previously produced parts is identical to the part to be produced, the data relating to the identical previously produced part may be retrieved and distributed by a distributing system so that the data may be used to produce the part to be produced.

The method may further comprise the step of editing the data relating to the previously produced parts, such that when it is determined that at least one of the previously produced parts is similar to the part to be produced, the data relating to the similar previously produced part is retrieved and edited by the editing system so that the edited data may be used to produce the part to be produced. Further, the step of developing a plan for producing the part to be produced based on the received data may be provided, so that when it is determined that all of the previously produced parts are different from the part to be produced, the received data is used by the developing system to develop the plan for producing the part to be produced.

Further features and/or variations may be provided in addition to those noted above. For example, the invention may be directed to various combinations and subcombinations of the above-described features and/or combinations and subcombinations of several further features noted below in the detailed description.

The above-listed and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will more be more fully set forth hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is further described in the detailed description which follows, by reference to the noted plurality of drawings by way of non-limiting examples of preferred embodiments of the present invention, in which like reference numerals represent similar parts throughout the illustrations, and wherein:

FIG. 1A is a block diagram illustration of a progressive sheet metal manufacturing facility constructed according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1B is a block diagram illustration of a progressive sheet metal manufacturing facility constructed according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates the respective data flow between the server module, database and station modules, in accordance with an aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of the general processes and operations that may be performed by the server module, according to another aspect of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a representative flow chart of the basic processes and operations that may be performed by each of the station modules, in accordance with the teachings of the present invention;

FIGS. 5A and 5B are flowcharts that illustrate the logic flow of a similar part search algorithm or process, according to an aspect of the present invention;

FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C, 6D, 6E, 6F and 6G illustrate, in accordance with an aspect of the invention, a feature extraction operation for a four bend box with touched corners and for a four bend box with open corners;

FIGS. 7A, 7B and 7C illustrate, in accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a feature relation operation and process for identifying search keys for a part having a four bend box, a bridge and another four bend box;

FIG. 8 is a flow chart that illustrates the logic flow of the processes and operations that may be performed to develop a 3-D model from a 2-D, single view drawing using a folding algorithm;

FIGS. 9A, 9B, 9C, 9D and 9E illustrate examples of an auto-trimming function and cleanup function that may be performed to prepare a drawing for a face detection process;

FIGS. 10A, 10B, 10C, 10D, 10E, 10F, 10G, and 10H illustrate the various processes and operations that may be performed in a face detection process, in accordance with an aspect of the present invention;

FIGS. 11A and 11B illustrate the development of a final bend graph data structure from the execution of a face detection process and bend line detection operation, according to an aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a flow chart of the basic logic flow for developing a 2-D model based on an original 3-D drawing (with no thickness) using an unfolding algorithm and other processes, according to the teachings of the invention;

FIG. 13 is a flow chart of the basic logic flow for developing a 3-D model based on an original 2-D, three view drawing using a 2-D clean-up operation, in accordance with an aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 14A is a flow chart, according to an aspect of the invention, of the basic logic flow of the processes and operations for performing a 2-D clean-up operation on a 2-D, three view drawing;

FIGS. 14B and 14C illustrate views and aspects of an exemplary 2-D, three view drawing that may be processed by the 2-D clean-up operation of the present invention;

FIG. 14D illustrates a rotated view feature of the 2-D cleanup operation of the present invention;

FIGS. 14E illustrates, in accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a canonical form relating to the 2-D clean-up operation of the present invention;

FIGS. 15A and 15B illustrate an example of a 2-D, three view drawing with thickness and a simplified 2-D, three view drawing model with no thickness that may be developed using an eliminate thickness procedure, according to the teachings of the present invention;

FIG. 15C is an illustration of a cross thickness line and thickness arc of an exemplary part, according to an aspect of the invention;

FIG. 16 is a flow chart of the logic flow of the various processes and operations that may be implemented to develop a 3-D model with no thickness from a 3-D drawing with thickness, in accordance with an aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 17 illustrates an exemplary data structure and access algorithm of the bend model that may be utilized when implementing the present invention through, for example, object oriented programming techniques;

FIG. 18 illustrates a block diagram of the structure of the bend model viewer, in accordance with another aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 19 illustrates an exemplary solid view window display that may be provided as output to a display screen;

FIG. 20 illustrates an exemplary wire frame view window display that may be provided as output to a display screen;

FIG. 21 illustrates a 2-D flat screen image window display that may be provided as output to a display screen;

FIG. 22 illustrates an orthographic view screen image that may be provided as output to a display screen;

FIG. 23 illustrates an example of the various dimension items that may be displayed in an automatic dimension mode of the present invention;

FIGS. 24A, 24B and 24C illustrate a manner in which the flange length may be defined for various different parts, according to an aspect of the invention;

FIGS. 25A and 25B illustrate, in accordance with another aspect of the present invention, adding an auxiliary flange length for two different types of parts;

FIGS. 26A, 26B and 26C illustrate a manner in which the flange length may be indicated for various parts that are displayed with thickness, in accordance with yet another aspect of the invention;

FIGS. 27A and 27B illustrate manners in which the flange length of parts with acute bend angles may displayed, in accordance with a tangent dimension method and an intersection dimension method of the invention;

FIG. 28 is a flow chart of the logic flow of the processes and operations that may be performed to develop a bending plan through the use of a graphical user interface, in accordance with another aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 29A illustrates an example of a bend sequence input screen image that may be displayed to a bending operator for developing a bending sequence;

FIGS. 29B and 29C illustrates examples of selection a bend sequence and modifying the insertion direction, in accordance with another aspect of the present invention;

FIGS. 29D and 29E illustrate further examples of a bend sequence input screen image and a related screen display;

FIG. 30 illustrates, in accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a drag and drop editing feature that may be provided to facilitate a bending operator in modifying and editing a proposed bend sequence;

FIG. 31 illustrates an example of the various display menus and data tables that may be graphically displayed to aid a bending operator in selecting tooling;

FIG. 32 illustrates an exemplary tool set-up window that may be displayed to a bending operator to facilitate the set-up of tooling in a proposed bending plan;

FIG. 33A illustrates an example of a 3-D solid view window display with audio and visual information attached through the use of pasted icons;

FIG. 33B illustrates another example of a display window that may be incorporated with icons for retrieving stored audio and video information, in accordance with an aspect of the invention;

FIG. 34 illustrates an example of an image editing window that may be implemented in accordance with the teachings of the present invention;

FIGS. 35A and 35B illustrate examples of a collision check function of the present invention that may be implemented through a graphical user interface;

FIGS. 36A and 36B illustrate a manipulation system of the invention for manipulating the rotation and display of 3-D geometrical shapes by using, for example, a joystick;

FIG. 37 illustrates a manipulation system of the invention for manipulating the zooming and display of 3-D geometrical shapes by using, for example, a joystick and zoom button;

FIG. 38 illustrates a manipulation system of the invention for manipulating the panning and display of 3-D geometrical shapes by using, for example, a joystick and pan button;

FIG. 39 is an exemplary flow chart of the processes and operations that may be performed in order to implement the 3-D navigation and manipulation system of the present invention;

FIG. 40 illustrates an example of mapping joystick movements to cursor movements, in accordance with an aspect of the invention;

FIG. 41 is an exemplary flow chart of the processes and operations that may be performed to dynamically calculate the rotation axis of the rendered part;

FIG. 42 illustrates an example of a main menu window display that may be provided and displayed at, for example, a station module;

FIG. 43 illustrates an exemplary part information window display that may be provided to permit a user to enter and modify part information;

FIG. 44 illustrates an exemplary bendline information window display that may be provided to permit a user to enter and modify bendline information;

FIG. 45 illustrates an exemplary bend sequence window display of the present invention for viewing the intermediate bend stages of a sheet metal part;

FIG. 46 illustrates an exemplary bend simulation window display of the invention for simulating the intermediate bend stages of a sheet metal part;

FIG. 47 is an exemplary menu screen diagram and structure of the present invention that may be provided and displayed to users for 2-D to 3-D conversions; and

FIG. 48 is an exemplary menu screen diagram and structure for a 2-D clean-up operation of the present invention.

FIG. 49A illustrates an example of a 3-D representation of a part before one sided open lines are removed, and FIG. 49B illustrates the part after the one sided open lines have been removed from the 3-D representation, according to a 3-D clean-up process of the invention that may be used when developing a 3-D model of a part from a 2-D, three view drawing of the part;

FIG. 50A illustrates an exemplary 3-D representation of a part before the bendlines have been identified, and FIG. 50B illustrates the part after the mold lines have been added, according to a 3-D clean-up process of the invention; and

FIG. 51A illustrates an exemplary section of a part before cleaning the bendlines and trimming the faces, and FIG. 51B shows the section of the part after cleaning and trimming has been performed, according to a 3-D clean-up process of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE APPENDICES

In order to further facilitate the detailed description of the present invention, reference is made to the noted plurality of appendices (provided in the microfiche appendix) by way of non-limiting examples of preferred embodiments of the present invention, in which sample source code and comments are provided with respect to the various features, operations and functions of the invention, and wherein:

Appendix A is an exemplary source code for executing a feature extraction operation of the present invention when performing, for example, a similar part search;

Appendix B is an exemplary source code for effectuating a similarity index operation when performing, for example, a similar parts search of the invention;

Appendix C is an exemplary source code for performing a bendline detection operation of the invention;

Appendix D is an exemplary source code for implementing a 2-D cleanup operation of the present invention, which may be utilized when developing a 3-D model of a sheet metal part based on an original 2-D, three view drawing;

Appendix E is an exemplary source code for implementing the various view modes and functions of a bend model viewer of the present invention;

Appendices F, G, H and I are exemplary source code and comments relating to executing and performing an auto dimensioning feature of the present invention;

Appendix J is an exemplary source code for implementing a part and entity visibility function of the bend model viewer of the invention;

Appendix K includes general comments relating to the implementation of the bend model and the organization of the part structure, according to the various teachings of the present invention; and

Appendix L includes exemplary source code for implementing a 3-D manipulation and navigation system with dynamic calculation of the rotation axis of the rendered part.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

According to an aspect of the present invention, an apparatus and method are provided for managing and distributing design and manufacturing information throughout a factory, and for facilitating the production of components within the factory. The features of the present invention may be used in a wide variety of factory environments and settings and, more particularly, the invention may be implemented in factory environments wherein a series of production and manufacturing stages are effectuated at different locations. By way of non-limiting embodiments and examples, the present invention will now be described with reference to the production of bent sheet metal components at, for example, a progressive sheet metal manufacturing facility.

Referring to FIG. 1A, a progressive sheet metal manufacturing facility 38 is generally illustrated in block diagram form, according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1A, the sheet metal manufacturing facility or factory 38 may include a plurality of locations 10, 12, 14 . . . 20 that are dispersed throughout the factory. These locations may comprise a design office 10, an assembly station 12, a shipping station 14, a punching station 16, a bending station 18, and a welding station 20. Although the sheet metal factory 38 in FIG. 1A is depicted as having only six discrete locations, the factory may of course include more than six discrete locations and may also include more than one location for each type of office or station illustrated in FIG. 1A. For example, depending on the size of and production capacity requirements for the facility 38, more than one punching station 16, bending station 18, and/or welding station 20 may be provided. In addition, the factory 38 may include more than one design office 10, assembly station 12 or shipping station 14, and may also include other types of locations for facilitating the production and manufacturing of components, such as bent sheet metal components.

Each of the locations 10, 12, 14 . . . 20 within the factory 38 may be adapted and include equipment to execute one or more of the discrete production and manufacturing stages or processes associated with the production and manufacturing of the components. For example, the design office 10 may include an appropriate CAD/CAM system, to facilitate the development of the sheet metal part design based on a customer's specification. The CAD/CAM system may comprise one or more personal computers, a display unit, a printer, and commercially available CAD/CAM software. By way of a non-limiting example, the CAD/CAM system of the design office 10 may include AUTOCAD or CADKEY, or an Amada AP40 or AP60 CAD/CAM system available from Amada America, Inc. (previously operating under the corporate name of U.S. Amada Ltd.), Buena Park, Calif. In addition, other commercially available CAD systems may be used, such as VELLUM, which is a Windows based CAD system available from Ashlar Incorporated. With the CAD/CAM software, the design programmer may develop a 2-D model and/or 3-D model of the sheet metal part based on the drawings and data provided in the customer's order. The design programmer may also generate control code based on the sheet metal part design, in order to generate a part program for controlling, for example, CNC punch presses and/or cutting machinery to punch or cut the sheet metal component from stock material.

Punching station 16 and bending station 18 may each be provided with any combination of CNC and/or NC based machine tools. For example, punching station 16 may include one or more CNC and/or NC punch presses, such as COMA series and/or PEGA series Amada turret punch presses or other commercially available CNC and/or NC punch presses, and bending station 18 may include one or more CNC and/or NC press brakes, such as RG series Amada press brakes or other commercially available multiple-axis, gauging press brakes. Further, welding station 20 may be provided with appropriate welding machinery in order to effectuate any required welding to the sheet metal component. Punching station 16, bending station 18 and welding station 20 may be located at various areas on the factory floor of the facility 38 and include machinery that is manually operated by skilled operators (e.g., punch press operators, bending operators, etc.). Fully automated or robot assisted machinery, such as the Amada CELLROBO MINI and the Amada PROMECAM, may also be provided at these locations. The required punching and bending operations, and any necessary welding operations, may be performed at these stations during the production process.

As further shown in FIG. 1A, the progressive sheet metal facility 38 may also include assembly station 12 and shipping station 14. Assembly station 12 and shipping station 14 may include the necessary packaging, routing and/or transportation equipment to facilitate the assembly and shipping of the manufactured components to the customer. The assembly and shipping of the components may be performed or controlled manually by factory personnel and also may be machine automated and/or machine assisted. In addition, assembly station 12 and shipping station 14 may be physically located near the factory floor (e.g., in close proximity to punching station 16, bending station 18 and/or welding station 20) or within a separate facility or area of the sheet metal factory 38.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, the management and distribution of critical design and manufacturing information is achieved by electronically storing and distributing the design and manufacturing information. By replacing or at least supplementing the traditional paper job set-up or work sheet with an electronic job sheet that can be accessed instantaneously from any location in the factory, the present invention improves the overall efficiency of the factory. In addition, through the various aspects and features of the invention, the organization and accessibility of stored design and manufacturing information is improved. Further, the ability to access and retrieve previous job information relating to similar or identical sheet metal parts is enabled through the various features of the invention.

To this end, the various aspects of the present invention may be implemented and effectuated by providing a communications network 26 that interconnects a server module 32 and a database 30 to each of the plurality of locations 10, 12, 14 . . . 20 within the sheet metal facility 38. As further discussed below, each of the locations 10, 12, 12 . . . 20 may include station modules that interface with communications network 26 and database 30. FIGS. 1A, 1B and 2 illustrate non-limiting examples of these features and implementation of the invention.

As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, communications network 26 may interconnect each of the various locations 10, 12, 14 . . . 20 of the facility 38 with server module 32 and database 30. Communications network 26 may comprise any network capable of transmitting data and information to and from the locations 10, 12, 14 . . . 20 and the server module 32 and database 30. Such transmission may be achieved electronically, optically, by RF transmission or by infrared transmission. By way of non-limiting example, communications network 26 may be implemented by a Local Area Network (LAN), Ethernet or an equivalent network structure. As further discussed below, each of the locations 10, 12, 14 . . . 20 may also include station modules having network terminating equipment (such as a computer, minicomputer or workstation) and/or peripheral devices (such as a display monitor or screen, printers, CD-ROMs, and/or modems) to transmit and receive information over communications network 26. The network terminating equipment and peripheral devices may include hardware and appropriate software or programmed logic for interfacing with communications network 26 and for providing the various features and aspects of the present invention, as more fully discussed below. If a computer is provided at the factory location, the computer may be a stand-alone, personal computer or a general purpose computer that is part of an interface device of the equipment or machinery provided at the location. For example, the computer may be an IBM compatible personal computer or may be a computer that is part of an interface/control system of the machinery, such as an Amada AMNC system.

Server module 32 and database 30 are also connected to communications network 26. Server module 32 may comprise network terminating equipment, such as a personal computer, minicomputer or mainframe, with suitable hardware and software for interfacing with communications network 26. Server module 32 may also include software or firmware for implementing the various features of the invention, such as those described in greater detail hereinafter. Further, according to an aspect of the present invention, server module 32 may also include database 30 for storing the design and manufacturing information associated with each customer's order. Database 30 may be implemented by any commercial available database with sufficient memory capacity for storing the design and manufacturing information of the factory's customers and storing other data, tables and/or programs. For example, database 30 may comprise a SCSI memory disk with 4 GB or more of available memory space. The design and manufacturing information that is stored in database 30 may be accessed and distributed to the various locations 10, 12, 14 . . . 20 within the sheet metal facility 38 via communications network 26. Various data formats, such as Structured Query Language (SQL), may be used for accessing and storing data to database 30. In addition, information that is stored in database 30 may be backed-up and stored on a wide variety of storage medium, such as magnetic tape, optical disks or floppy disks. Server module 32 and database 30 may be connected to communications network 26 at a separate area or location within the factory 38 (see, e.g., FIG. 1A), or at a location that is within or in close proximity to one of the predefined stations (e.g., within design office 10). Although the embodiment of FIG. 1A depicts database 30 as being part of server module 32 and interfacing with communications network 26 via the server module, database 30 may of course be physically located separately from server module 32 and connected to communications network 26 via a network database module 34, such as that shown in FIG. 1B.

By way of a non-limiting example, and in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, server module 32 and each of the locations 10, 12, 14 . . . 20 may comprise a personal computer, such as an IBM compatible computer with a 100-200 MHz central processor unit (CPU), including a Pentium or an equivalent microprocessor, at least 32 MB of memory and a high resolution display screen, such as any commercially available SVGA monitor with 800.times.600 resolution. Server module 32 and locations 10, 12, 14, . . . 20 may also include a joystick or mouse device and a Sound Blaster or compatible sound and game port adapter card for interfacing and controlling the display of information. Operating system software may also be provided to support communications. For example, server module 32 may be provided with Microsoft Windows New Technology (NT) or Windows 95 operating system software (both of which are available from Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Wash.), and each of the locations 10, 12, 14 . . . 20 may include Microsoft Windows 95 operating system software. In addition, server module 32 and locations 10, 12, 14 . . . 20 may be adapted to support multiple languages (such as English, Japanese, etc.) and full support for an Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) server, such as an OLE2 server, may be provided.

Various database languages and management systems may also be used for creating, maintaining and viewing information stored in database 30. A database language such as Structured Query Language (SQL) may be used for defining, manipulating and controlling data in database 30. For example, SQL Server (which is a retail product available from Microsoft Corporation) may be utilized to implement the present invention. In addition, the invention may be provided with an Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) compatible driver to facilitate access of information from database 30 over communications network 26. More information concerning OBDC may be found, for example, in the Microsoft Open Database Connectivity Software Development Kit Programmers Reference manual.

FIG. 1B illustrates, in block diagram form, a progressive sheet metal manufacturing facility constructed according to another embodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment of FIG. 1B, the database 30 and server module 32 are provided separately, with the database 30 being connected to communications network 26 via a network database module 34. As discussed above, the present invention is not limited to this arrangement and the database 30 and server module 32 may be provided together (as shown, e.g., in FIG. 1A), with the functionality of the network database module 34 for providing access to the database being incorporated in the server module. The embodiment of FIG. 1B also illustrates an example of the station module 36 that may be provided at each of the various locations 10, 12, 14 . . . 20 throughout the sheet metal manufacturing facility 38. For purposes of illustration, an exemplary station module 36 that may be located at bending station 18 is provided in FIG. 1B. Although not depicted in the example of FIG. 1B, similar station modules 36 may also be provided at the other locations within the facility 38.

As shown in FIG. 1B, each of the modules (i.e., server module 32, network database module 34, and station module 36) may be connected to communications network 26 via a network interface card or port 42. The network interface card 26 may be vendor specific and be selected based on the type of communications network that is selected. Each of the modules 32, 34 and 36 may also include network software or programmed logic for interfacing with the communications network 26. The communications network 26 may be an Ethernet with any of a number of commercially available cable types, such as 10 Base/T (twisted pair), 10 Base/2 (coax), or 10 Base/5 (thick cable), with the cable type being selected based on the size of facility 38 and the amount or length of the cable required.

In FIG. 1B, server module 32 may comprise a personal computer 40 with display monitor or CRT 44 and input/output devices 46, which may include a keyboard, mouse and/or joystick. The network interface card 42 may be plugged into an available expansion slot or port of the personal computer 40. In addition, personal computer 40 may comprise an IBM compatible computer with 100-200 Mhz operating speed and a Pentium or Pentium Pro microprocessor. Personal computer 40 may also include, for example, 32 MB or more of available main memory and 1.2 GB or more of available random access memory (RAM). Display 44 may include a high resolution display screen, such as any commercially available SVGA monitor with, for example, 800.times.600 resolution. To support the various graphics and information that may be displayed on display 44, personal computer 40 may also include any commercially available graphics card such as a PCI graphics card. Further, computer 40 may include a Sound Blaster or compatible sound and game port adapter card and input/output devices 46 may include a keyboard, joystick and/or mouse device.

In order to implement the various features of the invention, server module 32 may be configured with software and various software packages. For example, server module 32 may be provided with operating system software, such as Microsoft Windows NT (workstation version) or Windows 95. Further, in order to provide the server module specific functionality and features of the invention (see, e.g., FIG. 3 ), server module 32 may include software or programmed logic implemented routines. As discussed in greater detail below, these routines may be developed using a high level programming language, such as C++, and object oriented programming techniques. Server module 32 may also include or interface with CAD or CAD/CAM software, such as VELLUM or Amada AP40 or AP60 software, to enter and/or develop original 2-D and 3-D drawings based on a customer's specifications. For this reason, server module may be located in the design office 10 of the manufacturing facility 38. In order to access data from database 30, server module 32 may also include an OBDC driver, such as Microsoft ODBC driver, and may use SQL as a standard for accessing data. An OLE server, such as OLE2 server, may also be provided to link the data.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1B, database 30 is provided separate from server module 32 and is connected to communications network 26 via network database module 34. As indicated above, database 30 may comprise a SCSI disk with appropriate memory space (e.g., 1-4 GB), which may be selected based on the size of the factory 38 and the amount of part information to be stored in the database. Network database module 34 may include a personal computer 40, such as an IBM compatible computer with a Pentium microprocessor, and an expansion slot fitted with network interface card 42 for interfacing with communications network 26. Database 30 may be connected to personal computer 40 via a data bus and personal computer 40 may include standard display and input/output devices (not shown in FIG. 1B), such as a display monitor or CRT and a keyboard.

In order to facilitate access to database 30 based on SQL, personal computer 40 of network database module 34 may be configured with a commercially available SQL server, such as a Microsoft SQL server or Oracle SQL server. An OLE server, such as OLE2 server, may also be provided to link the data. Personal computer 40 may also be configured with various operating software, such as DOS and Microsoft Windows NT (server version).

The embodiment of FIG. 1B also includes an exemplary implementation of one station module 36. In this embodiment, the station module 36 is implemented at bending station 18. As shown in FIG. 1B, the station module 36 may include similar hardware to that of the server module 32. That is, each station module (e.g., at the other stations shown in FIG. 1A) may comprise a computer 48 with display monitor or CRT 44 and input/output devices 46, which may include a joystick or mouse. The network interface card 42 may be plugged into an available expansion slot or port of the computer 40. As discussed above, the computer of the station module 36 may be a stand-alone, personal computer or a general purpose computer that is part of an interface device of the equipment or machinery provided at the location. For example, computer 48 may comprise a free-standing, personal computer such as an IBM compatible computer with 100-200 Mhz operating speed and a Pentium or Pentium Pro microprocessor, or computer 48 may be a computer that is part of or built into an interface/control system of the machinery, such as an Amada AMNC system. Computer 48 may also include, for example, 32 MB or more of available main memory and 1.2 GB or more of available random access memory (RAM). Display 44 may include a high resolution display screen, such as any commercially available SVGA monitor with, for example, 800.times.600 resolution. To support the various graphics and information that may be displayed on display 44, computer 48 may also include any commercially available graphics card such as a PCI graphics card. Further, computer 48 may include a Sound Blaster or compatible sound and game port adapter and to support, for example, a joystick or mouse of the input/output devices 46.

In order to implement the various features of the invention, station module 36 may also be configured with software and various software packages. For example, station module 36 may be provided with operating system software, such as Microsoft Windows 95 or Windows NT (workstation version). Further, in order to provide the station module specific functionality and features of the invention (see, e.g., FIG. 4 ), station module 36 may include software or programmed logic implemented routines. As discussed in greater detail below, these routines may be developed using a high level programming language, such as C++, and object oriented programming techniques. In order to access and link data, station module 36 may also include an OBDC driver, such as Microsoft ODBC driver, and an OLE server, such as OLE2 server. Similar to server module 32, station module may use SQL as a standard for accessing data from database 30.

If the station module 36 of bending station 18 is provided as a free-standing personal computer, then software may be provided to create bending code data (i.e., NC data) and to interface with the machinery 25 (e.g., a CNC or NC controlled press brake). In the embodiment of FIG. 1B, computer 36 is illustrated as being implemented as a personal computer and is configured with software to interface with bending machinery 25 via a standard RS-232-C wire interface. This interface may be provided to permit the station module 36 to communicate with and send or receive bending code data to the bending machinery 25 via the RS-232-C interface. The implementation of the interface is vendor specific and will depend on the data format and machine instruction set used for the bending machinery 25. All data that is sent from the station module 36 to the bending machinery 25 should thus be formatted based on the machine instruction set that is defined for the machinery. The computer 48 of station module 36 may also be provided with any commercially available CNC or NC software for generating bending code data, in order to simulate the functionality that is normally provided by a built-in computer of CNC or NC systems (such as a Amada AMNC) for such machinery.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the respective data flows between server module 32, database 30 and the various locations of the sheet metal manufacturing facility 38. For purposes of illustration, and to better facilitate the description of the respective data flow in the embodiment, server module 32 and database 30 (integrated with network database module 34) are each shown in FIG. 2 as being separately and directly connected to communications network 26, with the data flow between these elements being carried out across the communications network. Of course, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, a wide variety of data flow arrangements may be provided between these elements; and, if database 30 is arranged to be directly connected to server module 32, then the data and information can be directly transferred from the server module to the database without use of communications network 26. In addition, for purposes of facilitating the description herein, the illustration of communications network 26 in FIG. 2 has been simplified and only punching station 16 and bending station 18 are shown in the drawing. Nonetheless, it will be appreciated that the data flow to and from locations 10, 12, 14 . . . 20 (as well as any other location or area that may be present in the factory) may be carried out in a similar manner to that described for punching station 16 and bending station 18.

The design and manufacturing information associated with each customer's order may be organized and stored in database 30. When a customer's order is initially received, basic product and design information may be entered at server module 32 and then transferred and stored to database 30. As discussed above, server module 32 may include any suitable means for entering the data, such as a personal computer with a keyboard, etc. If a personal computer is utilized at server module 32, software may be provided to generate menu driven screens to facilitate the entry of the data by factory personnel. The data entry program may be, for example, a Microsoft Windows based application with help and/or menu screens, etc. By way of a non-limiting example, the data that is entered and/or developed at server module 32 and transferred to database 30 may include part information, bend model data, feature extraction data, and bend line information, as generally illustrated in FIG. 2.

The part information may comprise, for example, a part or order reference number, the customer's name, a brief description of the part, the batch size or quantity, and scheduled delivery date. The bend model data may include, for example, part geometry and manufacturing data, such as the overall dimensions of the part (e.g., width, height, depth), and part material information such as the material type (e.g., steel, stainless steel, or aluminum), thickness and tensile strength. Further, feature extraction data may be manually entered and/or automatically generated to identify the key features of the part and to facilitate similar part searches and other searches of the database. The feature extraction data may be stored in a separate data file in database 30, or may be stored with the bend model data and other job information for each part. The feature extraction data may comprise, for example, features of the part such as the number of surfaces or faces, the number or types of bends present (e.g., a positive bend between two faces or a negative bend between two faces), the relationships between the faces and/or the number of holes or other types of openings in the part. As discussed more fully below, such data may be represented and organized in a feature based part matrix and/or a sequence of search keys (see, e.g., FIGS. 5-7 below). Lastly, bend line information may be entered at server module 32 for storage in database 30. The bend line information may comprise, for example, pertinent bend line information for each bend in the part, including the bend angle, the bend length, the inside radius (IR) of the bend, the amount of deduction, and the bend direction (e.g., front or back).

In order to transmit to and receive data from database 30 over communications network 26, each of the locations 10, 12, 14 . . . 20 may comprise a station module (such as station module 36 described above) that is connected to the communications network. In FIG. 2, punching station 16 and bending station 18 are generally illustrated in block diagram form with a station module. As discussed above, the station module may comprise, for example, software or control logic and a stand-alone personal computer or a general purpose computer that is part of the equipment or machinery provided at the location. For each customer's order, the design and manufacturing information (including the part information, bend line information, and bend model data) may be accessed and retrieved by entering, for example, a predetermined reference number or code. The reference number or code may be entered manually (e.g., by keyboard or digital input pad) or by scanning a bar code with a bar code reader or scanner provided at the station module. In addition, in accordance with an aspect of the present invention, previous job data may be accessed and retrieved from database 30 from any location 10, 12, 14 . . . 20 within the factory 38 by performing a similar part search. As discussed more fully in the detailed description that follows, a similar part search may be conducted based on the feature extraction data or search keys stored in database 30 so that previous job information relating to identical or similar part(s) can be retrieved and utilized to reduce the overall manufacturing time of future jobs.

The design and manufacturing information that is retrieved from database 30 may be used by the shop floor operators to develop and test the bending plan. For example, a bending operator at bending station 18 may access and retrieve the part information, bend line information and bend model data from database 30 in order to determine the necessary tooling and the optimum bend sequence for the sheet metal part. In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, an ODBC driver may be provided to permit each station module to interface database 30 and display information stored in the database. In addition, server module 32 or the network database module of database 30 may comprise a SQL server to facilitate the access and retrieval of data stored in the database. Once the bending code has been programmed based on the final bending plan, the bending code along with the bend sequence and tool setup information may be sent from the station module of bending station 18 to database 30 over communications network 30, as generally shown in FIG. 2. This information may then be stored along with the other design and manufacturing information associated with that job.

Other information may also be stored in database 30. For example, the 2-D and/or 3-D image representation of the part may be stored with the bend model data for the part. The 2-D or 3-D image representation may be developed at design station 10 or another location with a CAD/CAM system and transferred to database 30 via the station module of the design station (or another appropriate location) and through the communications network 26. Alternatively, the 2-D or 3-D image may be developed at server module 32, by utilizing or interfacing with an appropriate CAD/CAM system or modeling software and performing a series of functions or operations, as will be discussed more fully below.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, a detailed description of the processes and operations that may be programmed and performed by server module 32 and the station modules of each of the locations 10, 12, 14 . . . 20 will be provided. FIGS. 3 and 4 are flow charts of the basic logic flow that may be performed by server module 32 and the station modules of each of the locations 10, 12, 14 . . . 20 within the sheet metal manufacturing facility 38. While FIG. 4 is directed to the processes and operations that would typically be performed at, for example, bending station 18, it will be appreciated that other processes and steps may be performed depending upon the operations performed at each particular location within the facility 38. The processes and operations discussed below may be implemented by software and by using any one of a wide variety of programming languages and techniques. For example, in accordance with an aspect of the present invention, the processes and operations described below with reference to the accompanying drawings may be implemented by using a high level programming language such as C++ and using object oriented programming techniques. Further, by way of a non-limiting example, VISUAL C++ may be utilized, which is a version of the C++ programming language written by Microsoft Corporation for Windows based applications.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of the basic processes and operations performed by server module 32, in accordance with an aspect of the invention. FIG. 3 illustrates the basic logic flow of the processes and operations performed by the software or programmed logic of server module 32. Server module 32 may include a Windows based application with tool bar icons and help and/or menu screens to assist an operator or user in selecting and executing the various processes and operations of the server module. The process begins at step S.1, when a customer's order is received at the sheet metal manufacturing facility 38. The customer's order will normally include the necessary product and design information so that the component may be manufactured by the factory 38. This information may include, for example, the geometric dimensions of the part, the material required for the part, and other design information. Based on the information received from the customer, server module 32 may perform a search of previous job information stored in database 30, as illustrated in step S.3. The job information stored in database 30 may be searched based on a wide variety of search criteria. For example, information may be searched based on a predetermined reference or job number or a similar part search may be performed based on certain design features of the part, so that previous job information relating to an identical or similar part can be retrieved and utilized for the current job. A more detailed description of a similar parts search that may be utilized is provided below with reference to FIGS. 5-7.

At step S.5, the results of the search of the database are analyzed to determine whether the current customer's order relates to a new part, a part that is similar to a previous job, or a repeat of a previous job. If an identical match is found (e.g., the same part or reference number is located) and the present customer's order is a complete repeat of a previous job performed at the factory, then no further modifications to the job information is necessary and the previous job information may be accessed from database 30 and used to carry out the present customer's order, as shown at step S.11. The search of the database may provide the part or reference number and/or file name of the previous job so that the job information may be accessed from the database by an operator at the server module 32 or any of the station modules. If only the part or reference number is provided, then a translation table may be provided so that the file name of the previous job information may be determined and accessed based on the entry of the part reference or job number by an operator. Thus, an operator at, for example, server module 32 may access the job information and the 2-D and 3-D modeling information from database 30 to analyze the geometry of the part and confirm that it is similar to that of the repeat order. If the order is confirmed to be a repeat order, then a bending operator located at the station module of bending station 18 may also access the previous job information and utilize the manufacturing information, including the bending code data and tool setup information, to bend and produce the part. The use of such stored expert knowledge thus enables repeat orders to be manufactured more efficiently and without the need to reproduce previously entered and developed job information.

If, however, it is determined at step S.5 that the current customer's order is similar to a previous job or the same as a previous job but requires modification of, for example, the job or reference number or batch size, etc., then at step S.7 the previous job data located by the search may be retrieved from database 30, and edited and modified by an operator at server module 32. An editing function may be provided to allow editing and modification of previous job data to create new job data that may be stored in database 30 for the present customer's order. The amount of editing required will depend upon the amount of similarity that exists between the previous job and the current job. The amount of editing may encompass simply modifying the reference or job number or batch size, and/or may involve more extensive modifications such as editing the dimensions of the part and the defined bend sequence. After the previous job information has been edited, the revised job information may then be stored in database 30 at step S.9. The revised job information may be stored under a new reference or job number. In addition, various database management functions (such as copy, delete, save, rename, etc.) may be provided to permit the previous job information to be maintained in database 30 or to permit the previous job information to be erased or overwritten upon entry of a special command.

If it is determined that there is no similar or identical match to the current job and, thus, that the present customer's order relates to a new job, then logic flow proceeds to step S.15, as shown in FIG. 3. Since, in this case, the current job relates to a new job it will be necessary to independently develop and enter the design and manufacturing information. Menu and/or help screens may be provided by the server module 32 to assist the operator in entering all of the necessary job information. In accordance with an aspect of the invention, an operator at server module 32 may create a new file by first entering the basic part information for the new job. The part information may comprise, for example, a reference or job number, the customer's name, a brief description of the part, the required batch size or quantity for the job, and the scheduled delivery date. The feature extraction data or search keys may also be entered at step S.15, or this data may be automatically developed or extracted concurrently with the development of the bend model data, as described below. Other data or information may also be entered at step S.15, or entered after or during the entry of the bend model data, such as the bend line information which may comprise, for example, the bend angle, radius and length for each bend line in the part. After step S.15, logic flow proceeds so that the bend model data may be developed and entered at server module 32 by an operator, as shown in FIG. 3.

The development and entry of the bend model data may depend upon the original drawings and information provided from the customer. The customer's order may include, for example, a 2-D, single view flat drawing of the part to be manufactured and/or a 2-D, three view (e.g., including top, front and side views) drawing of the part. Occasionally, the customer may also provide a 3-D, wire frame drawing of the part, with or without the thickness of the material of the part being indicated in the drawing. In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, the bend model data may include both the unfolded (i.e., the 2-D flat representation) and the folded (i.e., the 3-D representation) information for the part to be manufactured. Thus, if only a 2-D flat drawing is provided by the customer, it will be necessary to develop a 3-D drawing of the part by applying, for example, a folding algorithm or process to the 2-D drawing. Alternatively, if only a 3-D drawing of the part is provided, then it will be necessary to develop a 2-D flat drawing by applying, for example, an unfolding algorithm or process to the 3-D drawing. In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the 2-D and 3-D models that are saved in the bend model may be developed and represented without the sheet material thickness (i.e., with no thickness). This is possible due to the unique symmetry of all sheet metal parts. Providing and representing the 2-D and 3-D drawings with no thickness provides modeling and simulation views of the part that can be more easily interpreted and understood by the design programmer, the bending operator and other users. Removing the thickness information also shortens and improves the processing time required by the server module and station modules when performing and executing the various features of the invention described herein. A more detailed description of such features, as well as the folding and unfolding algorithms that may be utilized in the present invention, is provided below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 3 shows the general processes and operations performed when developing the bend model data. The various types of drawings that may be received or developed based on the customer's order and that may be entered to develop the bend model data are generally shows at steps S.19, S.23, S.27 and S.31. A tool icon bar and menu and/or help screens may be provided by the server module 32 to assist the operator in selecting and executing each of these steps. The processing of these drawings to develop the 2-D and 3-D models of the part for the bend model will depend on what type of drawings are initially provided. These drawings may be manually entered or developed at server module 32, or they may be downloaded from a tape or disk. Server module 32 may, for example, interface with a CAD/CAM system located at, for example, design office 10, or server module 32 may include a stand alone CAD/CAM system. Further, the 2-D and 3-D drawings may be saved as DXF or IGES files and imported to server module 32.

If a 2-D, single view flat drawing is provided, then processing to develop the bend model may begin at step S.19, as shown in FIG. 3. At step S.19, the 2-D, flat drawing that was received or developed may be entered at server module 32. Other bend model data, such the overall dimensions of the part (e.g., width, height, depth), and part material information may also be enter at step S.19. Thereafter, a folding algorithm or process may be utilized to develop a 3-D model (with no material thickness) based on the original 2-D single view drawing, as generally shown at step S.21. An example of the processes and operations that may be performed to develop a 3-D model from a 2-D, flat drawing is provided below with reference to FIGS. 8-11.

If a 3-D, wire frame drawing (with no material thickness) of the part is received or developed, the drawing information may be entered at step S.27. In addition, other bend model data, such the overall dimensions of the part (e.g., width, height, depth), and part material information may be entered at step S.27. Thereafter, an unfolding algorithm or process may be executed at server module 32 in order to develop a 2-D model of the part, as shown at step S.29. An example of the processes and operations that may be performed to develop a 2-D model from a 3-D drawing (with no thickness) is provided below with reference to, for example, FIG. 12.

The 2-D and 3-D model representations of the part may be stored as part of the bend model for that part. In addition, as noted above, during the development and entry of the 2-D and 3-D models, other bend model data may be entered (such as the part material information and other manufacturing information) so that it may be stored with the bend model data in database 30. The various features and data structure arrangements that may be implemented for organizing and storing the bend model data are discussed more fully below (see, for example, FIGS. 17 and 18).

As shown in FIG. 3, if a simple 3-D drawing (with no material thickness) of the component is not originally developed or received, additional processing may be necessary in order to develop a 3-D model of the part (with no thickness), before executing the necessary unfolding algorithm or processes to develop the final 2-D model. Steps S.23, S.25, S.31 and S.33 generally show the additional processing and operations that may be performed by server module 32 before executing an unfolding algorithm and developing the 2-D model at step S.29.

For example, if a 2-D, three-view drawing of the part is originally provided or developed, then at step S.23 the drawing may be entered at or imported to server module 32. Further, other bend model data, such the overall dimensions of the part (e.g., width, height, depth), and part material information may also be enter at step S.23. Thereafter, at step S.25, a simple 3-D, flat drawing of the part may be developed based on the 2-D, three-view drawing that was entered. The developed 3-D drawing may then be used to develop the 2-D model at step S.29, as shown in FIG. 3. An example of the processes and operations that may be performed to develop a 3-D model from a 2-D, three view drawing is provided below with reference to, for example, FIG. 13.

If, however, a 3-D drawing with material thickness is originally received or developed, then the drawing information may be entered at step S.31 for further processing before applying the unfolding algorithm. Other bend model data, such the overall dimensions of the part (e.g., width, height, depth), and part material information may also be enter at step S.31. Thereafter, at step S.33, an eliminate thickness procedure may be executed to eliminate the thickness in the 3-D drawing. In accordance with an aspect of the invention, server module 32 may prompt the operator or user to indicate the thickness in the drawing and to indicate which surfaces (e.g., the outside or inside) should be retained when executing the eliminate thickness procedure. An example of an eliminate thickness procedure that may be utilized in the present invention is provided below with refere