Tool-path generation for sidewall machining

Abstract

Presented in this paper is a tool-path generation procedure for sidewall machining, a process that is essential in the fabrication of many mechanical parts. While sculptured surface machining has received a significant amount of attention, there has been relatively less study of the technological requirements of sidewall machining. In this paper, three technological requirements are identified: (1) machining clean-up regions after rough machining, (2) avoiding unbalanced tool wear, and (3) retaining down-milling. For the generation of a roughing tool-path, the PWID offset algorithm is utilized. After roughing, it is necessary to identify the clean-up regions. Identifying these regions requires two major computations: a 2D-curve offsetting and a 2D-booleaning operation. To avoid these heavy operations, this paper proposes a method that identifies clean-up regions by making use of the byproducts (interfering ranges) of the PWID offset algorithm. As a result, it is possible to identify clean-up regions efficiently with minimum effort.