Do I model with edgebanding included in the parts or do I model the raw parts and add edgebanding are parts to my assembly? Do I have to make two models?
Modelling parts which may or may not be edge banded (depending on materials) pose a challenge when it comes to other software which may be part of a production flow. This is particularly challenging when both sets of programs / files are always sent to the shop and the flow is chosen on the floor.
Take for example a shelf which may be made or oak or a plywood of some kind. In the case of the plywood the 2 visible edges would need edgebanding, in the case of oak however it would not be.
Ideally the model of the part would be the same and therefore so would the program IF all possible production streams are equal. But the streams usually are not.
If the edgebander incorporates a milling operation prior to banding then the part would be resized if it is to be banded. ( simple enough, and still good ) If the milling operation is not used the programs will now differ for each type of material.
Depending on what stream ( and software) is used to create the ‘pre banded’ part will be the difference.
IF the part is cut with a MPR on the CNC (i.e. nested) the prebanded part will be the dimension expected by the edgebander ( and some will be removed in banding).
IF the part is cut with a panel saw (using a cutlist & CutRite for for example) the edgebanding details are ‘compensated for’ in the optimization and nesting. The part will now be smaller than required – IF the milling is left enabled on the edgebander.
To allow multiple ‘possible’ production streams ONGAA CAM has added edgebanding information to it material definition and also provided a new set of automatic variables to compensate for any ‘downstream software’ which may need to know ‘other sizes’ which differ from the model standard. (These can swell part dimensions if the part is modelled without banding or they can shrink the part dime if it is modeled with banding).
This will allow parts to be modelled accurately – parts will include banding dimensions if materials are chosen later. It will also allow other programs such as CutRite to read the either the actual part sizes or the parts sizes without banding to better optimize the nesting process. This also means that the Cut List approach to feeding CutRite information and the MPR method of feeding information will match.
