Real time simulation and visualization of NC milling processes for inhomogeneous materials on low-end graphics hardware

Abstract

Simulation and visualization of NC milling processes has become an important step in computer aided manufacturing. The usage of stock materials with specific locally varying properties (such as density, accuracy, color, etc.) is becoming more important with new technologies emerging in the material industry. The authors' approach, using volumetric representation, has been adapted to these needs and copes with inhomogeneous material properties. Taking color as one possible material property, their approach enables the visualization of milled wood or compound materials. Furthermore, their approach has been developed with the usage of low-end graphics hardware in mind. The algorithms have been optimized to ensure interactive update rates even on standard personal computers without hardware graphics acceleration.