Constant Scallop-height Machining of Free-form Surfaces

TLDR

Traditionally, the distance between adjacent tool‑paths is kept constant in Euclidean or parametric space. A novel approach for NC tool‑path generation of free‑form surfaces is presented. The method keeps scallop‑height constant and employs zig‑zag (meander) finishing with a ball‑end milling cutter. This leads to a significant reduction in cutter‑location data size and machining time.

Abstract

A novel approach for the NC tool-path generation of free-form surfaces is presented. Traditionally, the distance between adjacent tool-paths in either the Euclidean space or in the parametric space is kept constant. Instead, in this work, the scallop-height is kept constant. This leads to a significant reduction in the size of the CL (cutter location) data accompanied by a reduction in the machining time. This work focuses on the zig-zag (meander) finishing using a ball-end milling cutter.