Generalized Tool Path Planning Approach for Finish Machining For 3-Axis Vertical Milling

Abstract

The generalized tool path planning approach for finish machining has been presented in this paper. The aim of present work is development of generalized tool path planning for finish machining / pencil cutting for 3-axis vertical milling. The CAD modeller provides the information about the part geometry, which has been taken as STL file (Stereo Lithography). The STL data has been used as input to the tool path generation algorithm, which calculates the cutter location (CL) points for a pre-decided density of CL positions in X-Y plane. With the help of CL data as input for pencil cut tracing algorithm, the CL data pints for continuous contoured pencil cutting operation has been extracted.