Data Analysis and Related Applications, Volume 1

21Monte Carlo Accuracy Evaluation of Laser Cutting Machine

A large selection of laser cutting machines is currently available – from 100 USD entry-level devices to 50,000 USD industrial machines. Generally, the accuracy of the specific model is characterized by a simple numerical parameter – from 0.3 mm for simple models to 0.01 mm for industrial models. However, using one parameter to characterize engraving accuracy may, in some situations, be misleading. This single parameter may be adequate for evaluating the accuracy of, say, a horizontal cut, but more parameters may be required to adequately describe the accuracy of the cut between two arbitrary points. In order to evaluate the practical accuracy of the different mechanical designs of laser cutting machines, the MAPLE-based software simulator was designed. By changing the type of the mechanical design and the values of the parameters of the geometrical sizes of the mechanical members used, mechanical slacks and mechanical rigidity, a practical evaluation of the resulting cut accuracy for different parts of the cut can be calculated. This chapter describes pintograph-based laser cutting machines. Pintograph has recently become popular due to its simple mechanical implementation that uses inexpensive servo motors controlled by an inexpensive microcontroller. Despite the simplicity of the mechanical design, the mathematical model of the real-life pintograph contains a large number of mechanical and electronic parameters. ...