METHOD FOR IMPLEMENTING DESIGN-FOR-MANUFACTURABILITY CHECKS

• US 20160259323A1
• Filed: 05/12/2016
• Published: 09/08/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Plethora Corporation
• Original Assignee: Plethora Corporation
• Inventors: Herrman, Jeremy, Pinkston, Nicholas J.
• Granted Patent: US 10,061,299 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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: G05B 2219/35134 3-D cad-cam
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/35193 Manufacturability
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2119/18 Manufacturability analysis or optimisation for manufacturability
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0283 Price estimation or determination
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0635 Processing of requisition or of purchase orders
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 80/40 Minimising material used in manufacturing processes
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]

Abstract

One variation of a method for implementing design-for-manufacturing checks during construction of a virtual model of a real part includes: in response to insertion of a virtual feature into the virtual model, estimating a minimum stock geometry for the real part based on the virtual feature; selecting a first material stock cross-section from a set of available material stock cross-sections of a material designated for the real part based on the minimum stock geometry; at a first time, prompting a user to adjust a dimension of the virtual feature to enable production of the real part with a second material stock cross-section in the set of material stock cross-sections, less than the first material stock cross-section; at a second time succeeding the first time, submitting, to a manufacturing facility and over a computer network, an order for production of a unit of the real part according to the virtual model.

Claims

1. A method for implementing design-for-manufacturing checks during construction of a virtual model of a real part within a computer-aided drafting engine executing on a computing device, the method comprising:

in response to insertion of a virtual feature into the virtual model, estimating a minimum stock geometry for the real part based on the virtual feature;

selecting a first material stock cross-section from a set of available material stock cross-sections of a material designated for the real part based on the minimum stock geometry;

at a first time, prompting a user, through the computer-aided drafting engine, to adjust a dimension of the virtual feature to enable production of the real part with a second material stock cross-section, in the set of available material stock cross-sections of the material, less than the first material stock cross-section;

at a second time succeeding the first time, submitting, to a manufacturing facility and over a computer network, an order for production of a unit of the real part according to the virtual model.