SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PREFLIGHTING A COMPUTER AIDED DESIGN FILE CORRESPONDING TO A TOOL FOR PROCESSING SHEET MEDIA

• US 20200133232A1
• Filed: 10/30/2019
• Published: 04/30/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2018
• Status: Active Application

• Current Assignee: ESKO Software BV (Veralto Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Esko Software BVBA (Danaher Corporation)
• Inventors: Deroo, Richard C., Blanvilain, Didier M., Pride, Jason, Vengerik, Inessa, Roskuski, Heidi, Feole, James, Evans, Llewelyn
• Application Number:
  US16/668,167
• Publication Number:
  US 20200133232A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B21D 37/205 Making cutting tools
• CPC Class Codes: B23P 15/406 rotary or plane die cutters
• CPC Class Codes: B26F 2001/4463 Methods and devices for rule setting, fixation, preparing cutting dies
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/40931 concerning programming of geometry
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/40938 Tool management
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/4097 characterised by using design data to control NC machines, e.g. CAD/CAM G05B19/4093 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2111/04 Constraint-based CAD
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2113/20 Packaging, e.g. boxes or containers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2113/24 Sheet material
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2119/18 Manufacturability analysis or optimisation for manufacturability
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2119/22 Yield analysis or yield optimisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/17 Mechanical parametric or variational design
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/20 Design optimisation, verification or simulation optimisation, verification or simulation of circuit designs G06F30/30
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]

Abstract

A method for performing a design rule check of a computer aided design (CAD) file corresponding to a geometry of a tool for use in a process for making an article from a starting material. Design rules defined to avoid a geometry of the tool documented as causing an inefficiency in a non-printing or non-platemaking operation of the process are stored in a computer. A design rule checking (DRC) module of the computer processes the CAD file relative to the stored design rules, identifies violations, automatically suggests design changes responsive to each violation, receives a user input responsive to suggested design changes, and modifies the CAD file in response to the user input. Non-transitory computer readable media containing code for implementing the method and related CAD systems are also described.

Claims

1. A method for performing a design rule check of a computer aided design (CAD) file, the CAD file corresponding to a geometry of a tool for use in a process for making an article from a starting material, the method comprising:

(a) storing in a computer memory one or more design rules in computer code readable by a design rule checking (DRC) module of a computer processor, the one or more design rules comprising at least one process operation inefficiency design rule applicable to the CAD file and defined to avoid an inefficient but not inoperable geometry of the tool documented as causing an inefficiency in a non-printing or non-platemaking operation of the process;

(b) processing the CAD file relative to the one or more stored design rules file using the DRC module;

(c) identifying a violation of the at least one process inefficiency design rule,

(d) automatically suggesting at least one design change responsive to the violation of the process inefficiency design rule;

(e) receiving a user input responsive to the suggested design change; and

(f) modifying the CAD file in response to the user input.

2. The method of any of the foregoing claims, wherein the CAD file defines a design comprising an individual periphery to be cut with the tool.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the CAD file defines a layout comprising a plurality of individual peripheries nested on a single sheet.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the tool is a steel rule die.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the inefficient geometry is known to increase processing time in a process operation relative to a more efficient geometry when used in the process.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising automatically providing information regarding an estimated impact on the process corresponding to implementation of the suggested design change in response to the identified violation of the process operation inefficiency design rule.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the information regarding the estimated impact includes a link to an audio-visual file illustrating the impact in audiovisual form.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the information regarding the estimated impact includes an estimate of a production efficiency differential associated with implementing or not implementing the suggested design change.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the estimate of production efficiency differential is expressed in units produced per unit time.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the process comprises a packaging-manufacture process.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the process operation inefficiency design rule corresponds to an inefficiency in a step for manufacturing a cutting tool or in a step of a converting process comprising a cutting step using the cutting tool or a finishing step downstream of the cutting step.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the cutting step comprises cutting a sheet of the starting material using a steel rule die tool.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the finishing step downstream of the cutting step comprises a waste stripping or waste ejection step, a gluing step, or a scoring step.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising cutting a sheet of the starting material using the tool, thereby creating a cut shape for further processing and at least one section of waste.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising ejecting the at least one section of waste from the cut shape.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising (a) scoring at least one portion of the cut shape to create a scored shape without fully perforating the cut shape, (b) folding the cut shape and gluing at least one portion of the cut shape to another portion of the cut shape, or a combination of (a) and (b).

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising forming an article of packaging from the cut shape after scoring, folding, and/or gluing.

18. The method of claim 2, wherein the CAD file defines a two-dimensional (2D) design.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the CAD file is stored in memory as set of geometric vectors that define a plurality of lines, and the DRC module evaluates the CAD file relative to the one or more design rules using an algorithm that iteratively follows each line in the plurality of lines and evaluates all other lines relative to the followed line for geometric relationships indicative of a process inefficiency design rule violation.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of identifying the violation includes displaying a graphical view of a portion of the CAD design with a highlighted area showing an outline of a shape to be cut as interpreted by the DRC module based upon the design.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of receiving a user input responsive to the suggested design change includes receiving an input accepting an identified anomaly despite the identified violation.

22. An article of manufacture comprising non-transitory computer readable media programmed with computer program code readable by a computer, the code comprising instructions for performance by a computer processor, including:

(a) instructions for causing the computer processor to store in a computer memory one or more design rules in computer code readable by a design rule checking (DRC) module of the computer processor, the one or more design rules comprising at least one process operation inefficiency design rule applicable to the CAD file and defined to avoid an inefficient but not inoperable geometry of the tool documented as causing an inefficiency in a non-printing or non-platemaking operation of the process;

(b) instructions for causing the DRC module to process the CAD file relative to the one or more stored design rules file;

(c) instructions for causing the DRC module to identify a violation of the at least one process inefficiency design rule,

(d) instructions for causing the DRC module to automatically suggest at least one design change responsive to the violation of the process inefficiency design rule;

(e) instructions for causing the DRC module to receive a user input responsive to the suggested design change; and

(f) instructions for causing the DRC module to modify the CAD file in response to the user input.

23. A computer aided design (CAD) system for designing an article for manufacture from a starting material using a tool in a process, the method comprising:

a computer processor having a design rule checking (DRC) module;

a user interface configured to enable a user to interactively provide a user input;

a computer memory, the computer memory configured to store (a) one or more design rules in a format readable by the DRC module and (b) a CAD file that defines a geometry for the tool, the one or more design rules comprising at least one process inefficiency rule corresponding to an inefficient but not inoperable geometry of the tool documented as causing an inefficiency in a non-printing or non-platemaking operation of the process;

wherein the DRC module is configured to;

evaluate the CAD file relative to the one or more design rules;

identify in the CAD file one or more violations of the at least one process inefficiency design rule;

automatically suggest at least one design change responsive to each identified violation of the at least one process inefficiency design rule;

process a user input received in responsive to the suggested design change;

modify the CAD file in response to the user input.

24. The CAD system of claim 23, wherein the user interface is further configured to permit the user to interactively provide parameters corresponding to the design rules.

25. The CAD system of claim 23, wherein the user interface includes a graphical user interface that provides an illustration corresponding to at least one design rule, means for receiving a user selection to apply or not apply the at least one design rule, and means for receiving a user definition of any variable parameter values.

26. The CAD system of claims 23, wherein the user interface is configured to identify the violation by displaying a graphical view of a portion of the CAD design with a highlighted area showing an outline of a shape to be cut as interpreted by the DRC module based upon the design.