Safe and Short Tool Length Generation for 3+2 Axis NC Machining of a Ball-End Cutter Using Graphics Hardware

  • Authors:

  • Qingzhen Bi;Han Ding;Yuhan Wang

  • Affiliations:

  • State Key Lab. of Mechanical System and Vibration, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, P.R. China 200030;State Key Lab. of Mechanical System and Vibration, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, P.R. China 200030;State Key Lab. of Mechanical System and Vibration, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, P.R. China 200030

  • Venue:
  • ICIRA '08 Proceedings of the First International Conference on Intelligent Robotics and Applications: Part II
  • Year:
  • 2008

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Abstract

In 3+2 axis NC machining, only three linear axes are executed while 5-axis machine's two rotational axes are locked. Compared with conventional 3-axis machining, the main advantage of 3+2 machining is that it allows use of a shorter cutter. The magnitude of tool deflection and the stability of cutting process strongly depend on the slenderness of the tool. However, the tool overhang length can't be easily shortened because of collision avoidance. In this paper the accessibility cone of a milling cutter is newly defined to generate collision-free cutting orientations. The accessibility cone and safe tool length can be efficiently computed by a novel method using graphics hardware. The proper cutting orientation of 3+2 machining is then obtained by optimizing the safe and shortest tool length. The computational example and cutting experiment of sculptured surface machining confirm the validity of the approach.