Generating spiral tool path to machine free-form surface with complex topology based on fusing constraint mapping and enriched Voronoi diagram

Although there are methods to machine free-form surfaces, serious distortion in the concave–convex characteristic of the flattened-plane boundary, high deformation of the surface geometry, and single limitation of the surface topology are usually produced. Thus, a novel surface flattening method is proposed in this paper to retain the concave–convex characteristic and reduce the deformation, and a spiral path is generated to machine the free-form surface with various topologies. The machined surface is mapped to a planar region with a free boundary using a fusing constraint mapping method. First, the spring-mass-based stretching constraint is used to minimize the length differences of the triangular sides, which are caused by surface flattening. Subsequently, in order to flatten surfaces with an isometric deformation, we perform this operation under the constraint of hinge-based bending. Eventually, the global constraint, the minimization of the global energy, is employed to acquire a less distorted plane. Then, to generate a planar spiral path fit for machining various planes, which are concave, convex, simply-connected, or multiply connected, enrichment of the conventional Voronoi diagram, interpolation between the wave fronts, and rounding of the spiral polyline are implemented. For machining a free-form surface, by inversely mapping the planar path, a spiral tool path is planned. Experimental results are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the presented methods.