Optimization of rotations of a five-axis milling machine near stationary points

We consider a new algorithm designed for five-axis milling to minimize the kinematics error near the stationary points of the machined surface. Given the tool orientations, the algorithm optimizes the required rotations on the set of the solutions of the corresponding inverse kinematics equations. We solve the problem by means of the shortest path scheme based on minimization of the kinematics error. We present an application of the proposed algorithm to tool-path planning and demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed scheme verified by practical machining. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.