Uniform scanning path generation for abrasive waterjet polishing of free-form surfaces modeled by triangulated meshes

Abstract

In this paper, a method is proposed to generate scanning paths to be used in automated abrasive waterjet polishing of free-form surfaces. This method is able to produce trajectories with constant offset distance between curves on surfaces with holes and complex boundaries without reconfiguration of their triangular mesh model. For this, the particular requirements of this polishing technique to be kept along the path are investigated. Next, a reference curve is obtained and using geodesic distances in specific directions, the adjacent offset curves are found. Finally, if needed, the main trajectory is divided into a set of continuous sub-trajectories. By defining two indices, the effect of the shape of the surface and the configuration of the generated path on the uniformity of the distribution of the waterjet is evaluated. Through several examples, it is shown that the method can effectively generate scanning paths adapted to the requirements of this technique.