A Generalization Approach for the Kinematic Modelling of the Rotational Axes of Five-Axis CNC Centers

In practice, the inverse kinematic modelling and analysis of a five-axis CNC center is of importance when transferring and postprocessing a cutter location (CL) data file for machining part surfaces of complex geometry. Decades ago, though there has been a number of investigations focusing on the kinematic modelling and postprocessor development for five-axis CNC centers, a little attention has been paid to the generalization of the inverse kinematic modelling for the rotational axes of five-axis CNC centers. In this paper, a new and general analytical approach for deriving effectively the inverse kinematic equation of two rotational axes of any five-axis CNC center is proposed. It has shown that the proposed technique is very useful for the postprocessor development of any five-axis CNC center.