Finding the maximum turnable state for mill/turn parts

Mill/Turns are a class of machine tool on which, as their name implies, both turning and milling operations can be performed. This capability results in reduced set-ups, leading to increased production rates and better part quality. On Mill/Turns it is more efficient to remove material by turning than by milling. Knowing how much material is turnable is therefore important in creating efficient process plans. In this paper computational techniques for determining the Maximum Turnable State (MTS) of a Mill/Turn part are presented. The Maximum Turnable Volume (MTV) is the (regularized boolean) difference between the initial workpiece and the MTS. The MTS is computed incrementally with respect to the chosen workpiece axis. The technique has been implemented and several examples are included.