A novel tool path planning and feedrate scheduling algorithm for point to point linear and circular motions of CNC-milling machines

Abstract

The manufacturing process on CNC machines is directed by the Numerical Control (NC) files which include the main tool paths as a combination of numerous instructions such as lines and arcs specified by the G01 and G02/G03 commands. In the literature, the lines and arcs generally are converted to a parametric curve based on the global tool path smoothing or local corner smoothing algorithms. However, the smoothing methods cause the deflection from the tool path in NC-File. In cases where the deflection from the main tool path is not acceptable, point-to-point motion is necessary instead of the smooth trajectory. This study presents a novel trajectory planning and feedrate scheduling algorithm for point-to-point control of linear and circular paths in the NC-File. The proposed method prevents the feedrate fluctuations at the junction points and generates the tool path without deflection from the NC-File. Also, the feedrate scheduling algorithm decrease the operating time of the machine significantly compared to traditional method of point-to-point motion. This study is verified on an industrial 3-Axis CNC-Milling machine by the operating of the roughing milling, drilling, slotting, and face milling process. The measurements of final product and real-time trajectory tracking results show that the proposed method is effective in industrial applications of CNC-Milling machines in which point-to-point motion is necessary.