TOOL PATH PLANNING USING VORONOI DIAGRAM AND THREE STACKS

Based on the object oriented data structure of Voronoi diagram, the algorithm of the trimmed offset generating and the optimal too l path planning of the pocket machining for multiply connected polygonal domains are studied. The intersection state transition rule is improved in this algorithm. The intersection is between the trimmed offsets and Voronoi polygon. On this basis, the trimmed offset generating and the optimal tool path planning are mad e with three stacks(I stack, C stack and P stack)in different monotonous pouches of Voronoi diagram. At the same time, a merging method of Voronoi diagram an d offsets generating for multiply connected polygonal domains is also presented. The above algorithms have been implemented in NC machining successfully, and the efficiency is fully verified.

Dual Drive Curve Tool Path Planning Method for 5-axis NC Machining of Sculptured Surfaces

The problem of finished surface being not first-order continuous commonly exists in machining sculptured surfaces with a torus cutter and some other types of cutters. To solve this problem, a dual drive curve tool path planning method is proposed in this article. First, the maximum machining strip width of a whole tool path can be obtained through optimizing each tool position with multi-point machining （MPM） method. Second, two drive curves are then determined according to the obtained maximum machining strip width. Finally, the tool is positioned once more along the dual drive curve under the condition of tool path smoothness. A computer simulation and cutting experiments are carried out to testify the performance of the new method. The machined surface is measured with a coordinate measuring machine （CMM） to examine the machining quality. The results obtained show that this method can effectively eliminate sharp scallops between adjacent tool paths, keep tool paths smooth, and improve the surface machining quality as well as machining efficiency.

Tool Orientation Optimization and Path Planning for 5-Axis Machining

Tool path generation is a fundamental problem in 5-axis CNC machining, which consists of tool orientation planning and cutter-contact(CC) point planning. The planning strategy highly depends on the type of tool cutters. For ball-end cutters, the tool orientation and CC point location can be planned separately;while for flat end cutters, the two are highly dependent on each other. This paper generates a smooth tool path of workpiece surfaces for flat end mills from two stages: Computing smooth tool orientations on the surface without gouging and collisions and then designing the CC point path. By solving the tool posture optimization problem the authors achieve both the path smoothness and the machining efficiency. Experimental results are provided to show the effectiveness of the method.

Efflcient machining of a complex blisk channel using a disc cutter

For rough machining of a complex narrow cavity,e.g.,a complex blisk channel on an aero-engine,the typically used cutting tools are the slender cylindrical cutter and conical cutter.Nevertheless,as neither of the two is particularly suited for rough machining,wherein the main purpose is to remove a large volume as quickly as possible,the machining efficiency is low,especially when the part materials are of hard-to-cut types(e.g.,Titanium-alloy)for which it often takes days to rough machine a blisk.Fortunately,disc machining provides a new and efficient roughing solution,since a disc cutter with a large radius enables a much larger cutting speed and thus a larger material removal rate.However,due to the large radius of the disc cutter,its potential collision with narrow and twisted channels becomes a serious concern.In this paper,we propose a novel twophase approach for efficiently machining a complex narrow cavity workpiece using a disc-shaped cutter,i.e.,3+2-axis disc-slotting of the channel by multiple layers(rough machining)+five-axis disc-milling of the freeform channel side surfaces(semi-finish machining).Both simulation and physical cutting experiments are conducted to assess the effectiveness and advantages of the proposed method.The experimental results show that,with respect to a same cusp-height threshold on the channel side surfaces,the total machining time of the tested part by the proposed method is about only 36%of that by the conventional approach of plunging-milling(for roughing)plus milling by a slender cylindrical cutter(for semi-finishing).

Positioning method of a cylindrical cutter for ruled surface machining based on minimizing one-sided Hausdorff distance

Motivated by the definition of the machining errors induced by tool path planning methods, a mapping curve of the tool axis of a cylindrical cutter is constructed on the tool surface. The mapping curve is a typical one that can be used to express the closeness between the tool surface and the surface to be machined. A novel tool path planning method is proposed for flank or plunge milling ruled surfaces based on the minimization of the one-sided Hausdorff distance （HD） from the mapping curve to the surface to be machined. It is a nonlinear optimization problem in best uniform approximation （BUA） or Chebyshev sense. A mathematical programming model for computing the minimum one-sided HD is proposed. The linearization method of the programming model is provided and the final optimal solutions are obtained by simplex method. The effectiveness of the proposed BUA method is verified by two numerical examples and compared with the least squares （LS） and double point offset （DPO） methods. The variation in tool orientation induced by the optimization of the tool positions is also evaluated.