Development of Cutting Strategy in Ultra-Precision Raster Milling of Freeform Surface

Abstract

This paper studies the development of cutting strategy in the fabrication of freeform surface in ultra-precision raster milling (UPRM). The tasks of developing cutting strategy in freeform machining involve in the selection of cutting parameters and the planning of tool paths. An integrated system is built in this study to develop the cutting strategy, automatically generate NC program, simulate the tool paths and machining process, as well as make predictions for the machining time and the surface quality of the raster milled freeform surface. Experiment is conducted to verify the developed system and the experimental results show that the system is applicable for the machining of freeform surface in UPRM. This study therefore contributes to avoiding the need to conduct expensive and time consuming trial cutting tests to ensure the product quality in the freeform machining.