Roughing toolpath sequences generation for computer aided manufacturing

A system comprising:

• a data processing apparatus including at least one hardware processor;
• and
• a non-transitory computer-readable medium encoding instructions of a computer-aided design or manufacturing program for specifying roughing operations for computer-controlled manufacturing of a part, the instructions being configured to cause the data processing apparatus to
• obtain a three dimensional model of the part, a three dimensional model of a workpiece from which to machine the part using a computer-controlled manufacturing system, and information regarding different cutting tools and cutting data for the different cutting tools usable in the computer-controlled manufacturing system, wherein the different cutting tools comprise cutting tools having different cutting surface geometries, and the information regarding the different cutting tools comprises a specified final one of the different cutting tools to use when roughing the part from the workpiece,
• determine a set of candidate combinations of the different cutting tools to effect the roughing operations by estimating a target machining result for each of multiple, tool-size-ordered lists of the different cutting tools,
• generate an expanded set of combinations of the different cutting tools to effect the roughing operations by adding to the set of candidate combinations a set of alternative combinations of the different cutting tools, the alternative combinations being variations of the candidate combinations with each variation having at least one candidate tool being replaced with at least one alternate tool,
• populate a multidimensional roughing operations representation vector using the expanded set of combinations of the different cutting tools,
• optimize values of the multidimensional roughing operations representation vector for the expanded set of combinations, using a cost function for the target machining result and simulation of the roughing operations, to specify tool selections and operational parameters for the roughing operations, and
• provide the specified tool selections and operational parameters for use in roughing the part from the workpiece by the computer-controlled manufacturing system by cutting away portions of the workpiece using the specified tool selections and operational parameters for the computer-controlled manufacturing system.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium encoding instructions operable to cause a data processing apparatus to perform operations for specifying roughing operations for computer-controlled manufacturing of a part, the operations comprising:

• obtaining, in a computer-aided design or manufacturing program, a three dimensional model of the part, a three dimensional model of a workpiece from which to machine the part using a computer-controlled manufacturing system, and information regarding different cutting tools and cutting data for the different cutting tools usable in the computer-controlled manufacturing system, wherein the different cutting tools comprise cutting tools having different cutting surface geometries, and the information regarding the different cutting tools comprises a specified final one of the different cutting tools to use when roughing the part from the workpiece;
• determining a set of candidate combinations of the different cutting tools to effect the roughing operations by estimating a target machining result for each of multiple, tool-size-ordered lists of the different cutting tools;
• generating an expanded set of combinations of the different cutting tools to effect the roughing operations by adding to the set of candidate combinations a set of alternative combinations of the different cutting tools, the alternative combinations being variations of the candidate combinations with each variation having at least one candidate tool being replaced with at least one alternate tool;
• populating a multidimensional roughing operations representation vector using the expanded set of combinations of the different cutting tools;
• optimizing values of the multidimensional roughing operations representation vector for the expanded set of combinations, using a cost function for the target machining result and simulation of the roughing operations, to specify tool selections and operational parameters for the roughing operations;
• and
• providing the specified tool selections and operational parameters for use in roughing the part from the workpiece by the computer-controlled manufacturing system by cutting away portions of the workpiece using the specified tool selections and operational parameters for the computer-controlled manufacturing system.