Efficient tool path planning method of ball-end milling for high quality manufacturing

Triangular mesh representation is extensively utilized in geometric design and reverse engineering. However, in the realm of high quality CNC machining, there is a notable transition from mesh to continuous surface representation for workpieces. This paper presents a novel approach to address this shift, proposing a high-precision and efficient path generation method of ball-end milling specifically designed for triangular meshes. The method integrates considerate surface fitting techniques with productive path planning strategies to optimize machining processes. The method first introduces GNURBS surface fitting adapted for CAM with normal vectors and sharp features preserving, then provides a surface segmentation strategy better suited for machining based on a weighted graph analysis, and finally presents a Fermat spirals path generation scheme with single start and end points. Experimental results and case studies are provided to illustrate and clarify our method. The results show the superior performance and effectiveness of our method concerning surface quality, sharp features, and machining time.