Patent ID: 7429034

Claim:
An apparatus for thermal cutting a workpiece comprising: a thermal cutting machine that in operation cuts the workpiece into a finished part and a residual part; a plurality of adjustable first support elements for supporting the finished part at a first support level; a plurality of adjustable second support elements for supporting the residual part at a second support level different from the first support level, the first support elements and second support elements being positioned relative to the thermal cutting machine to support selected areas of the workpiece during a cutting operation, and a programmable control unit for positioning the support elements, wherein the control unit is configured to selectively adjust one or more of said support elements, located under a region of the workpiece whose temperature rises substantially when thermally cut during the cutting operation, to a position where the selected support element(s) do not support the region of the workpiece and configured to selectively adjust the first support elements to the first support level and the second support elements to the second support level before or during operation of the thermal cutting machine.