How SHAPEMATE™ Works

The SHAPEMATE™ Digitizing Module provides an easy to use, yet highly accurate solution to process your non-geometrical or free form shape requirements.  SHAPEMATE™ interfaces with a wide range of digitizing devices.  PMC Software has chosen the LASICO Digitizing Instrument as its choice for an effective low cost solution to process free form shapes.  Our testing has proven that this device provides both reliability and accuracy.  We also incorporate a digitizing optimizer to ensure that the shape is as smooth as possible based on the input and will generate the least amount of NC instructions to improve performance at the cutting table.

Creating a Digitized Shape

To process customer orders containing free form shapes, templates or patterns are placed on either a horizontal or vertical flat surface.  SHAPEMATE’s digitizing module does not require an expensive drafting table. Templates as large as sixty inches by sixty-five inches can be processed.  Oversized ones are processed in sections and then joined to create one large shape, providing truly limitless capabilities.

Once the digitizing instrument is referenced to a home position, the operator selects a straight line or curve function and “plots” the outside perimeter of the shape.  You begin by drawing the first line of the shape. 

To complete the shape, continue drawing lines or arcs.  Several drawing functions are available to use when creating the shape.  A description of each function follows.

Additional Features

Trim Allocation

Once you have drawn the shape, you draw the block, allocating the trim necessary to break out the shape.

Breakout Cuts

Based upon the capabilities of your breakout personnel, you may wish to add breakout cuts to the drawing.

Advanced Drawing Functions

Fillet

Fillet is a handy tool for rounding corners, which makes breakout easier and reduces problems where a corner inadvertently breaks off because it is too sharp.  You have full control over the radius used to fillet lines.

Mirror

Many shapes are symmetrical.  Therefore, you only need to draw a portion of the shape and then use the Mirror command.  The Mirror command will flip and copy the portion of the shape selected so that you do not have to redraw that section.

Move

When you place your first point in your drawing, you may realize later that it should have been placed farther right or left or higher or lower so that the entire shape fits easily on the screen.  Use the Move command to do this.  Move can also be used for specifying edgework allowance in conjunction with additional SHAPEMATE™ commands.

Offset

Offset is a handy ability that allows you to easily add edgework allowances to drawings.  Make sure that when you are done, you have removed the original drawing lines and only left the lines reflecting the allowance for edgework.

The Completed Drawing

When completed, a drawing will look similar to the sample screen below.

Saving the Shape

Once completed, the shape must be exported into .DXF format so that Numerical Control (NC) instructions can be generated for your glass cutting table.  The completed shape can also be saved in the SHAPEMATE™ Library of Shapes for future processing.  A specialty shape can be processed by TABLEMATE™, OPTIMATE™, or WINDOWMATE™.  Specialty shapes are optimized with a regular glass schedule, providing better material usage and reduced waste.

SHAPEMATE’s Reports

Conversion Report

Before specialty shapes can be optimized, they must be saved in .DXF format. As this conversion takes place, the file is checked to assure that certain criteria are met.  A report prints, which assigns each shape a unique 3-digit shape number and reports the status of the shape, indicating whether the shape was converted successfully, or what errors occurred, if the conversion was unsuccessful.

Drawing Directory

SHAPEMATE™ provides a listing of all specialty shapes currently in the system.  This report may be viewed on-screen or output to a printer.  If a printed version of the report is selected, the option is available to sort the report by shape number or alphabetically by drawing name. 

Specifically, we recognize the challenges identified below as concerns that affect large and small glass operations.  The SHAPEMATE™ Digitizing Module provides an economical ways to address these issues.

Increase in custom shape requests

An increasing number of glass fabricators deal in markets that have very unique glass shape requirements for their products.  These requirements go beyond the ‘standard’ shapes offered by PMC’s Shape Catalog. 

Increase in number of templates received

As the market for specialty shapes increases, so does the number of requests you receive for these shapes.  You need a highly efficient means of producing specialty shapes accurately and in a timely fashion.

Customers wishing to send CAD drawings for their specialty shape needs

You need the ability to process .DXF files provided by your customers, created on their in-house CAD system.  Customers have the added assurance that their specialty shape will be cut according to the exact specifications they submit in .DXF format.

Difficulty locating artisans capable of efficient hand cutting

As it becomes increasingly difficult to find specialists with a talent for hand cutting, the task of hand cutting specialty shapes becomes more and more tedious, costly, and prone to errors. 

Costs increased by manual cutting when automated cutting is available

While a specialist undertakes and long, tedious, and expensive task of hand cutting a specialty shape, the accuracy and speed provided by your automated glass-cutting machine sits idle.

Need for identical lites

As specialty shapes become increasingly popular in the flat glass industry, your customers will expect you to cut a specialty shape repeatedly with exact accuracy.  This requires a method for identifying and saving a completed shape for future processing. 

Market potential exceeds manual capacity

The lengthy process of hand cutting a specialty shape impedes turnaround time and may result in dissatisfied customers.