Patent Publication Number: US-2017355058-A1

Title: Multiphase Cutting

Description:
FIELD 
     This disclosure relates generally to multiphase cutting. 
     BACKGROUND 
     How a gemstone is cut may have a significant effect on its resulting quality. Once a particular cut is selected, appropriate facets may be determined. A rough stone is often then attached to a dop stick and pressed against a lap wheel until the desired facet is cut. 
     SUMMARY 
     The following presents a simplified summary of the disclosure to provide a basic understanding to the reader. This summary is not an extensive overview of the disclosure, nor does it identify key or critical elements of the claimed subject matter or define its scope. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts disclosed in a simplified form as a precursor to the more detailed description that is later presented. 
     The instant application discloses, among other things, multiphase cutting. In one embodiment, it may comprise phase cutting a facet on a gemstone in two or more phases. For example, a cutting pass may be broken down into two separate passes, greatly increasing accuracy of material removal and edges of facets of the stone. Multiphase cutting may comprise a bulk removal pass followed by a finer removal pass to complete the cutting. For example, a standard gem cutting process for removing 100 microns of material may comprise cutting until the 100 microns have been removed. By contrast, Multiphase Cutting may split the same 100-micron removal into an approximately 90%/10% split. For example, during a first pass, it may remove 90 microns of material. During a second pass, a finer lap wheel may be used to remove the remaining 10 microns of material. The second phase may use a slower feed rate, and may use a wider oscillation or swing, so that the stone may be moved completely in and out of the lap. This may provide consistent stone dimensions despite lap wheel irregularities. Multiphase cutting may provide more accurate results because the excess material removed from the 90 microns may be cleared, and the remaining 10 microns may produce less stress on the underlying gem. Thus, there may be less flexing or warping during the fine pass removal. This process may produce significantly more accurate results of the total 100-micron removal, for example, which may provide a better gemstone. 
     Many of the attendant features may be more readily appreciated as they become better understood by reference to the following detailed description considered in connection with the attached drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a block diagram illustrating a system capable of supporting multiphase cutting according to one embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a gemstone cut by a multiphase cutting system according to one embodiment. 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a Multiphase Cutting process according to one embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a block diagram illustrating a system capable of supporting Multiphase Cutting according to one embodiment. Rough Stone  100  may be attached to Dop Stick  110 . Controller  130  may move Dop Stick  110  in such In this example, a first cutting pass may take out approximately 90% of the bulk of the material using typical cutting parameters. A second pass may use a feed rate one-tenth to one-fifth as fast, and may use a much wider oscillation (swing) distance with the stone getting completely in and out of lap. This may produce consistent stone dimensions despite lap wheel irregularities, for example. Each facet may be smoother and be more accurate in size and angle, which may improve the optical attributes of the stone. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a Gemstone  100  cut by a Multiphase Cutting system according to one embodiment. Rough Stone  100  may be cut during a first cutting pass, using conventional techniques, until it provides Initial Cut  210 . Intermediate Stone  210  may be roughly in the shape of a desired Gemstone  220  cut, but with excess material still in place. A second pass may be used for removing the excess material. Controller  130  may move Intermediate Stone  210  completely in and out of lap, and may feed Intermediate Stone  210  more slowly while cutting to produce Gemstone  220 . 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a Multiphase Cutting process according to one embodiment. At Adjust Initial Feed Rate  310 , Controller  130  may be adjusted to feed Rough Stone  100  against a lap wheel. By adjusting the pressure used to push the stone against the wheel, cutting speed may be controlled. Adjusting Initial Oscillation  320  may determine which parts of the lap wheel are used to cut the stone. Rough Stone  100  may be cut by holding it in one place while the lap wheel spins, but moving the stone in and out may allow more even wear on the lap wheel, and more efficient cutting. Make Rough Cut  330  may use the initial feed rate and initial oscillation to get the rough stone cut to an approximation of the desired final shape, but leaving approximately 10% of excess material for an additional cut, giving Intermediate Stone  210 . Adjust Feed Rate  340  may involve reducing a feed rate to allow for a finer cut to be made when approaching the final gemstone cut. The adjusted feed rate may be approximately one-tenth to one-fifth of the initial feed rate. Adjust Oscillation  350  may involve setting a wider oscillation than the initial oscillation, so that the gemstone moves completely on and off the lap wheel. This may provide consistent stone dimensions despite lap wheel irregularities. Final Cut  360  may be made, giving Gemstone  220 . 
     While the detailed description above has been expressed in terms of specific examples, those skilled in the art will appreciate that many other configurations could be used. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that various equivalent modifications of the above-described embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.