High performance milling

A method for milling selected portions of a workpiece by a cutting tool of a numerical control machine, the numerical control machine having associated therewith a processor and a memory, the method comprising:

• receiving a main toolpath, the main toolpath comprising one or more cuts;
• computing one or more transition toolpaths, each transition toolpath defining a transition area intersecting one or more of the cuts of the main toolpath;
• connecting an interruption of a cut to a continuation of the cut with one or more connecting moves such that each connecting move is substantially inside one or more of the transition areas wherein the cutting tool is substantially disengaged from the workpiece during the connecting move within the transition areas;
• and
• milling the selected portions of the workpiece by moving the cutting tool in accordance with the cuts, transition toolpaths, and connecting moves, wherein the milling includes removing material from a portion of at least one of the transition areas corresponding to one of the computed transition toolpaths.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable instructions, comprising:

• instructions for receiving a main toolpath, the main toolpath comprising two or more cuts;
• instructions for computing one or more transition toolpaths, each transition toolpath defining a transition area intersecting one or more of the cuts of the main toolpath;
• instructions for connecting the completion of one cut to the beginning of the next cut with one or more connecting moves such that each connecting move is substantially inside one or more of the transition areas wherein the cutting tool is substantially disengaged from a workpiece during the connecting move within the transition areas;
• and
• instructions for milling selected portions of the workpiece by moving the cutting tool in accordance with the cuts, transition toolpaths, and connecting moves, wherein the instructions for milling include instructions for removing material from a portion of at least one of the transition areas corresponding to one of the computed transition toolpaths.

A system, comprising:

• a numerically controlled machine having associated therewith a cutting tool;
• a component configured to receive a main toolpath, the main toolpath comprising two or more cuts;
• a component configured to compute one or more transition toolpaths, each transition toolpath defining a transition area intersecting one or more of the cuts of the main toolpath;
• a component configured to connect the completion of one cut to the beginning of the next cut with one or more connecting moves such that each connecting move is substantially inside one or more of the transition areas wherein the cutting tool is substantially disengaged from a workpiece during the connecting move within the transition areas;
• and
• a component configured to mill selected portions of the workpiece by moving the cutting tool in accordance with the cuts, transition toolpaths, and connecting moves, wherein the milling includes removing material from a portion of at least one of the transition areas corresponding to one of the computed transition toolpaths.