Automated surface subdivision and tool path generation for 3 1/2 1/2-axis CNC machining of sculptured parts

As an innovative and cost-effective method for carrying out multiple-axis CNC machining, 3 1/2 1/2 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. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.