Constant scallop-height tool path generation for three-axis discrete data points machining

This paper presents a new approach for the determination of constant scallop-height tool paths in the machining of discrete data points using three-axis ball-end milling. Compared with the existing approaches for surfaces, this approach avoids offsetting data points, which is complex and time consuming. This paper firstly creates the local coordinate system centered at each CL point of the current path to calculate the corresponding scallop point and then the similar local coordinate system is created at each scallop point to calculate the wanted CL point of the next tool path. The tool paths generated by the approach keep the scallop-height constant and meet the step error requirement. The experiment result indicates that the approach is feasible and efficient and the overall tool path length can be reduced significantly compared with the iso-planar method.