Importance

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Abstract

A method and an apparatus for sharpening a cutting blade of a numerically controlled cutting apparatus which includes a conveyor for supporting material to be cut and a cutting head assembly mounted on a carriage disposed above a cutting surface of the conveyor. The cutting head assembly includes a cutting blade, a mechanism for rotating the cutting blade about an axis perpendicular to the cutting surface, a mechanism for raising and lowering the cutting blade and a pair of grinding wheels for sharpening the cutting blade. The rotating mechanism rotates the cutting blade from a first angular position at which cutting is performed to a second angular position at which the pair of grinding wheels sharpen the cutting blade. The pair of grinding wheels are mounted on a grinder support which is pivotally supported on a rotatable shaft such that the grinding wheels are driven and the grinder support is biased to bring one of the grinding wheels in contact with one side of the cutting blade when the shaft is rotated in one direction and the other one of the grinding wheels is brought into contact with the other side of the cutting blade when the shaft is rotated in the opposite direction. The grinding operation is automatically carried out by a programmable controller.

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First Claim