Method of Optimizing Toolpaths Using Medial Axis Transformation
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsJared Lee Bolin, Philip L. Freeman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Rough machining of a workpiece is performed by a numerically controlled machine tool using an adaptive toolpath technique. Material removal rate and machine efficiency are increased by forming a pre-roughing slot in the workpiece along medial axes, and machining the remainder of the workpiece using a toolpath that begins inside the pre-roughing slot and spirals outwardly in smooth curves.
Claims25
A method of machining a workpiece using an automatically controlled cutting tool, comprising:
- selecting an area of the workpiece to be machined;
- computing at least one skeletal curve for the selected area;
- machining a slot in the workpiece along the skeletal curve;
- generating a toolpath based on the geometry of the slot;
- and
- moving the cutting tool along the generated toolpath to machine the workpiece.
A method of rough-machining a workpiece using a numerically controlled machine tool, comprising:
- selecting a boundary defining the shape of an area of the workpiece to be machined;
- determining a medial axis of the shape;
- using the medial axis to generate a first set of toolpath data for guiding the movement of a cutting tool;
- machining a pre-roughing slot in the workpiece using the first set of toolpath data;
- generating a second set of toolpath data based on the geometry of the slot;
- and
- rough machining the workpiece using the second set of toolpath data.
A method of rough-machining a workpiece having at least one narrow region, comprising:
- inputting a cut boundary to a computer that defines the shape of an area of the workpiece to be machined;
- using the computer to perform a medial axis transformation of the shape, including generating a set of medial axis curves describing the shape;
- selecting certain of the medial axis curves for use in generating a pre-roughing toolpath;
- using the computer to generate the pre-roughing toolpath based on the selected medial axis curves;
- automatically machining a pre-roughing slot in the workpiece using a cutting tool and the pre-roughing toolpath to guide the cutting tool;
- using the computer to generate a roughing toolpath based on the geometry of the pre-roughing slot;
- and
- automatically machining a remainder of the area of the workpiece using the cutting tool and the roughing toolpath to guide the cutting tool.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.