A tool path correction and compression algorithm for five-axis CNC machining

A novel approach is proposed for correcting command points and compressing discrete axis commands into a C2 continuous curve. The relationship between values of rotation angles and tool posture errors is firstly analyzed. A segmentation method based on values of rotation angles and lengths of adjacent points is then used to subdivide these command points into accuracy regions and smoothness regions. Since tool center points generated by CAD/CAM system are usually lying in the space that is apart from the desired curve within a tolerance distance, and the corresponding tool orientation vector may change a lot while the trajectory length of the tool center point is quite small, directly machining with such points will lead to problems of coarse working shape and long machining time. A correction method for command points is implemented so that good processing effectiveness can be achieved. Also, the quintic spline is used for compressing discrete command points into a C2 continuous smooth curve. The machining experiment is finally conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.