An approach for improving the machining efficiency and quality of aerospace curved thin-walled parts during five-axis NC machining

Abstract

The processing of aerospace thin-walled parts with complex curved surfaces can hardly realize both high precision and high efficiency. It is challenging to choose the optimal processing scheme under the limited technological condition. This study proposes a tool path optimization for five-axis numerical control based on Mastercam numerical control programming software. Numerical control program is introduced to VERICUT software to implement simulation optimization through different cutting parameters. Different tool paths of surface processing are optimized to select the optimal cutting trajectory with the highest processing efficiency and the optimal surface quality. On this basis, with processing productivity as the object function, the processing parameters are optimized through control variable method to determine the optimal cutting force and cutting thickness on the premise of guaranteeing the processing quality (cutting force), so that both processing efficiency and processing quality can be perfected. Through experiments, the machining efficiency is increased by 61.5% after two optimization operations, and the machining quality is improved effectively (the average cutting force of finishing is reduced by 76.6% to the largest extent). This not only meets the requirements of processing precision and maximizes the efficiency of processing but also provides a reference for the further application of key parts in aerospace and some other fields.