Design of adaptable pin configuration machine bed optimized with genetic approach for sheet metal cutting process

This paper proposes a novel design of machine bed used in laser, plasma and abrasive water jet (AWJ) cutting machines. During sheet metal cutting process, the laser/plasma beam pierces the sheet and further causes damage to the support bed. In contrast to the existing industrial practice of using fixed type support bed, the proposed adjustable pin type design bed adaptively provides support to the sheet by considering the parts layout that is being cut. In this design, the bed is formed with adjustable slats, in which the pins are inserted into the holes of the slats. By combining the dimensional data of machine bed and parts layout, an effective pin configuration is generated. The slats and position of the pins are represented in terms of genetic strings. The near optimal pin configuration is generated through a customized genetic algorithm. The objective is to minimize the damage caused by the tool to the bed and also to provide effective support to the different geometrical parts based on its centroid location. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is tested by combining the data of the bed and its different parts of the layout with irregular geometries. The results are promising and the uniqueness of the proposed approach is illustrated with different test cases.