An efficient optimization method based on curvature feature for reducing tool path fluctuation

The sculptured surface has been widely used in aerospace and machinery manufacturing industries. CNC machining of sculptured surfaces is an important research area, and computation efficiency improvements are considered critical topics in this field. This paper presents a highly efficient method to generate smooth tool paths by establishing a mathematical model to describe the relationship between the relative curvature of sculptured surface and the machining strip width in five-axis machining. The method is improved from the middle-point error control method (MPECM) and the feasible tool position surface method (FTPSM), by changing the objective from the complete optimization for each drive point to the drive points’ interpolation. The drive point with the narrowest machining strip width and some sample points is selected to interpolate the remaining points. Both theoretical analysis and test examples show the correctness of the proposed method. Under the same condition, compared with the MPECM and the FTPSM, the computing time of the new method decreases to 10% at least. Besides, the fluctuation of the tool path is reduced. The machining examples verified the superiority of the proposed method.