Systems, Devices, and Methods for Flank Milling via Determined Flattest Lines
AssigneeHexagon Technology Center GmbH
InventorsGiuliano Sona, Simone Petruzzi
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Methods, systems, and devices for flank milling by a computer numerical control (CNC) machine by selecting a workpiece to be machined, determining a tool path for the flank milling cutting tool based on a selected flank milling cutting tool having a tool curvature matching the curvature of an identified subset of curves, where the identified subset of curves may have near-zero curvature and determined to have a direction minimizing an absolute value of a normal curvature, and where the subset of curves may be on an unruled surface and having pseudo-ruledness properties.
Claims15
A method comprising:
- selecting a workpiece to be machined, wherein the workpiece has a set of one or more unruled surfaces;
- determining sub-areas of the set of one or more unruled surfaces having a set of curves wherein the set of curves have pseudo-ruledness properties, wherein pseudo-ruledness properties are a set of properties associated with the surface and determined based on evaluating the Gaussian curvature of the set of curves and a set of criteria;
- determining a direction for each curve of the set of curves of the determined sub-areas, wherein the direction minimizes an absolute value of a normal curvature for the set of curves and correspond to isolines on the determined sub-areas that exhibit near-zero curvature;
- identifying a subset of curves having near-zero curvature from the set of curves determined to have direction minimizing an absolute value of a normal curvature, the identifying based on whether the determined direction is negative, zero, or positive within a threshold;
- selecting a flank milling cutting tool from a set of available tools based on matching the curvature of the identified subset of curves with curvature of the flank milling cutting tool;
- and
- determining a tool path for the flank milling cutting tool based on the selected flank milling cutting tool having a tool curvature and the curvature of the identified subset of curves.
A device for generating instructions for a five-axis machining tool, the device having a processor and addressable memory, the processor configured to:
- select a workpiece to be machined, wherein the workpiece has a set of one or more unruled surfaces;
- determine sub-areas of the set of one or more unruled surfaces having a set of curves wherein the set of curves have pseudo-ruledness properties, wherein pseudo-ruledness properties are a set of properties associated with the surface and determined based on an evaluation of the Gaussian curvature of the set of curves and a set of criteria;
- determine a direction for each curve of the set of curves of the determined sub-areas, wherein the direction minimizes an absolute value of a normal curvature for the set of curves and correspond to isolines on the determined sub-areas that exhibit near-zero curvature;
- identify a subset of curves having near-zero curvature from the set of curves determined to have direction that minimizes an absolute value of a normal curvature, and configured to identify based on whether the determined direction is negative, zero, or positive within a threshold;
- select a flank milling cutting tool from a set of available tools based on matching the curvature of the identified subset of curves with curvature of the flank milling cutting tool;
- and
- determine a tool path for the flank milling cutting tool based on the selected flank milling cutting tool having a tool curvature and the curvature of the identified subset of curves.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.