Fly-cutting head, system and method, and tooling and sheeting produced therewith
First Claim
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1. A fly-cutting apparatus comprising:
- a motorized spindle for supporting and rotating a workpiece according to command signals from a control system;
a continuously rotatable fly-cutting head, the fly-cutting head being rotatable about an axis of rotation, wherein the fly-cutting head includes;
a device mounted to an outer radius of the fly-cutting head, wherein the device is adapted to deform or remove material from the workpiece; and
a dynamically-controllable actuator, positioned between the axis of rotation and the device and radially spaced from the axis of rotation that changes a position of the device relative to the fly-cutting head, during a cutting operation in response to the command signals from the control system, such that the device traces a controllable, predetermined cutting path relative to a position and rotation of the workpiece.
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Abstract
A fly-cutting system is disclosed, and in particular one that comprises a dynamically-controllable actuator for controlling the position, orientation, or both position and orientation of a cutting element carried by a fly-cutting head. In certain embodiments, the actuator can adjust the position or orientation of a cutting element, or both, hundreds or thousands of times per second, enabling precise control over the shape of features formed by the cutting element in a surface of a workpiece.
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Citations
8 Claims
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1. A fly-cutting apparatus comprising:
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a motorized spindle for supporting and rotating a workpiece according to command signals from a control system; a continuously rotatable fly-cutting head, the fly-cutting head being rotatable about an axis of rotation, wherein the fly-cutting head includes; a device mounted to an outer radius of the fly-cutting head, wherein the device is adapted to deform or remove material from the workpiece; and a dynamically-controllable actuator, positioned between the axis of rotation and the device and radially spaced from the axis of rotation that changes a position of the device relative to the fly-cutting head, during a cutting operation in response to the command signals from the control system, such that the device traces a controllable, predetermined cutting path relative to a position and rotation of the workpiece. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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Specification