Method and apparatus for simulating the processing of a workpiece

An apparatus for simulating and representing the processing of a workpiece, by a tool in which there are formed polygonal boundaries of workpiece surfaces and tool path contours altered by reciprocal three-dimensional linkages, comprising:

• means for processing workpiece data, tool data and tool path data;
• and display means for representing the resulting workpiece;
• said processing means comprising a plurality of data memories for storing corner point data, surface data and data regarding a tool path contour;
• a control mechanism connected to the data memories for allocating data stored in the data memories to geometric elements of the workpiece and of the tool path contour, which have been stored in work memories;
• wherein the polygonal boundaries of the workpiece and the tool path contours are oppositely direction-oriented and a computing mechanism for determining intersection points in three dimensions and depositing the intersection points in an intersection point memory, wherein the control mechanism links the intersection points from the intersection point data memory with information data about a previous state of the workpiece to provide changed workpiece data and brings a resulting workpiece into representation on the display means.