Optimized Tool Path Planning for Five-Axis Flank Milling of Ruled Surface Considering Tolerance

Five-axis CNC flank milling has recently received much attention in industry. Tool path planning is a critical issue in five-axis CNC flank milling operation. Previous work based on dynamic-programming generated optimal tool path by global minimising the machining error. However, global minimal machining error may not guarantee a local machining error controllable. Therefore, this paper proposes a method based on combination of global and local optimization, which makes tool path of five-axis flank milling optimal and error controllable. Oversize error of tool paths can be partially adjusted so that a specified tolerance is met in global optimization processing. Finally, the experiments of the simulative are made by this algorithm. The result verifies the feasibility and validity of the proposed scheme.