Automated surface subdivision and tool path generation for 3 ½½-axis CNC machining of sculptured parts

Authors:
Zezhong C. Chen;Zuomin Dong;Geoffrey W. Vickers
Affiliations:
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, Que., Canada H3G1M8;Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada V8W3P6;Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada V8W3P6
Venue:
Computers in Industry
Year:
2003

Citing 4
Cited 2

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Abstract

As an innovative and cost-effective method for carrying out multiple-axis CNC machining, 3½½-axis CNC machining technique adds an automatic indexing/rotary table with two additional discrete rotations to a regular 3-axis CNC machine, to improve its ability and efficiency for machining complex sculptured parts. In this work, a new tool path generation method to automatically subdivide a complex sculptured surface into a number of easy-to-machine surface patches; identify the favorable machining set-up/orientation for each patch; and generate effective 3-axis CNC tool paths for each patch is introduced. The method and its advantages are illustrated using an example of sculptured surface machining. The work contributes to automated multiple-axis CNC tool path generation for sculptured part machining and forms a foundation for further research.