Journal
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRODUCTION RESEARCH
Volume 49, Issue 22, Pages 6813-6831Publisher
TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
DOI: 10.1080/00207543.2010.528062
Keywords
five-axis machining; tool path generation; cutter orientation; CAM
Categories
Funding
- Overseas Research Students (ORS) award from Universities UK
- School of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Birmingham
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Five-axis machining allows continuous adjustment of cutter orientation along a tool pass. Unfortunately, the flexibility has not been fully exploited due to the separate consideration of tool path generation and cutter orientation in current machining methods. This paper presents an integrated method (IM) for tool path generation, which is tightly integrated with the orientation strategy, to minimise tool path length under the constraint of smooth cutter orientation. Distinctively, cutter orientation along a tool pass is optimised by balancing considerations of maximum material removal and smoothness of cutter movement. Further, the intervals between successive tool passes are maximised according to the optimised orientation. In the paper, the IM is combined with the quadric method, a recently developed cutter orientation strategy, for iso-parametric machining with a flat-end cutter. However, the method could be applied to other orientation strategies with different machining mechanisms and cutter types. Simulated examples illustrate that the IM is more efficient in machining than established methods.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available