Abstract
Well-designed tool orientation is crucial for the quality execution of five-axis machining with flat-end tools. Tool orientation can be specified in terms of tool inclination and tool tilt angles. For a given surface path, these aspects need to be specified for each cutter contact point along the path, because poor tool orientation choice can cause large axial acceleration of the machine tool, leading to inferior quality of the machined surface. The rotation-minimizing frame aims to reduce unnecessary frame rotation during movement. This concept has been adopted to develop tool orientation methods that allow variation in the inclination angle, the tilt angle, and both the inclination and tilt angles. The intention is to reduce unnecessary rotation of the tool frame as the tool follows a specified path. Evaluation was conducted in the context of five-axis flat-end tool machining. Based on these methods, tool orientation was planned along surface paths of a torus, sphere, and dome. Changes in tool orientation were always smooth. From the perspective of reducing tool orientation changes and axial acceleration, it was demonstrated that simultaneous variation of the inclination and tilt angles based on rotation minimization provided the best results.
Highlights
Tool path planning for five-axis computer numerical control (CNC) machining has attracted significant interest in recent years
The focus of this paper is to address tool orientation for five-axis machining with flatend tools
The concept of rotation-minimizing frame (RMF) was explored for tool orientation planning in the context of five-axis machining
Summary
Tool path planning for five-axis computer numerical control (CNC) machining has attracted significant interest in recent years. Existing research in tool orientation for five-axis machining has focused mainly on gouging avoidance, rotary axes movement optimization, and cutting efficiency. Lin et al [26] developed a method to change the tool orientation to avoid five-axis singularities and improve the texture of the machined surface. The tool inclination angle was fixed to maintain constant cutting speed, and the component of the tool vector on the tangent plane was specified as the parallel transport vector This resulted in smooth overall tool orientation variation, and the total tool rotation about the surface normal was smaller than that in Sturz’s method. Alternate RMFs for various applications were reviewed by Farouki [30] It appears that methods favoring a small and stable tool axis speed improve efficiency and ensure robust machine tool performance.
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