Five-axis surface interpolators

Abstract A new interpolator architecture for surface machining on five-axis CNC machines was developed and tested. This interpolator can handle quick and precise production of both convex surfaces by using end-mills and ruled surfaces by using flank-mills. The main ideas are (1) Decomposing the surface into curves, (2) continuously maintaining the cutter axis perpendicular to convex surfaces (end mills) or parallel to ruled surfaces (flank mills) by calculating corresponding axial reference positions at each sampling period of the interpolator. This real-time approach produces smoother surfaces and requires substantially less machining time compared to conventional off-line approaches.