TABLEMATE™

Manual Glass Optimizer for the generation of Numerical Control Instructions

TABLEMATE™ is a software tool that assists in the manual creation of a glass cutting layout. TABLEMATE™ makes it extremely easy to manually generate cutting layouts composed of rectangles or shapes.  Once completed these layouts are quickly converted into the Numerical Control (NC) commands that are required to automatically score the glass.  TABLEMATE™ provides total flexibility in creating NC instructions for cutting emergency orders, remakes, and other low volume requirements.

This versatile system allows its user to construct a cutting layout, piece by piece, with a pictorial representation of the cutting layout displayed on a computer screen during each step of its creation.  TABLEMATE™ allows you to plan your pattern on any size sheet you choose to use.  You plan your first strip and place your first piece. As each piece or group of pieces is put in place, the system shows the length and width of the glass that remains on the strip.

TABLEMATE™ leads you every step of the way. You simply position a flashing pointer to the desired location on the screen.   A screen prompt will direct you to enter the identification of the piece along with its base and side dimensions. If more than one piece will fit, the quantity and direction (up or down/left or right) is also requested with maximum possible values displayed to minimize the need for mental calculations. 

Using TABLEMATE™ provides control over piece selection and placement in a cutting layout.  The user has complete flexibility over the sequence in which strips and pieces will be removed from the cutting table. 

Defects or breaks in sheets can easily be scheduled around to provide the best utilization of a sheet of glass. The benefits of TABLEMATE™ are not limited to layout generation on large inventory sheets.   Offal can also be utilized and pieces damaged during processing can easily and quickly be recut on the cutting table.

TABLEMATE™ is easy to understand and use.  The user is presented with menus, used to select a task to be performed, or for data entry.  Explicit instructions are given and data verification is performed on-line and occurs immediately.  If an error occurs, the item in error is pointed out by the system and a diagnostic message describing the reason for the failed edit is displayed.  No invalid data is ever permitted to enter the system. 

TABLEMATE™ is parameter driven.  This capability enables its users to significantly customize the system to meet their specific informational needs without reprogramming. 

In addition to rectangles, TABLEMATE™ can generate the NC instructions to cut OPTIMATE™'s standard shape library.  Custom shapes defined using SHAPEMATE™ can also be incorporated into a layout for maximum material utilization.