Tool path generation is a fundamental problem in 5-axis CNC machining, which consists of tool orientation planning and cutter-contact (CC) point planning. The planning strategy highly depends on the type of tool cutters. For ball-end cutters, the tool orientation and CC point location can be planned separately; while for flat end cutters, the two are highly dependent on each other. This paper generates a smooth tool path of workpiece surfaces for flat end mills from two stages: Computing smooth tool orientations on the surface without gouging and collisions and then designing the CC point path. By solving the tool posture optimization problem the authors achieve both the path smoothness and the machining efficiency. Experimental results are provided to show the effectiveness of the method.

刀具路径生成是5轴CNC加工中的一个基本问题，它由刀具方向规划和刀具接触（CC）点规划组成。规划策略在很大程度上取决于刀具的类型。对于球形端铣刀，可以单独规划刀具方向和CC点位置。而对于平端铣刀，两者高度依赖。本文从两个阶段生成了用于平面立铣刀的工件表面的平滑刀具路径：计算出没有气刨和碰撞的表面平滑刀具方向，然后设计CC点路径。通过解决刀具姿态优化问题，作者既获得了路径的平滑性，又获得了加工效率。实验结果表明了该方法的有效性。