Tool Path Generation of Partition Machining for Complex Triangular Mesh Model

To solve the contradiction between machining efficiency and accuracy in NC machining of the complex triangular mesh model, a method of partition machining is presented, which is composed of the segmentation of mesh model and tool path generation of sub-regions. A growing principle based on machining feature formulation is proposed for the region growing segmentation. To avoid unnecessary short tool-path, sub-regions are optimized, and their boundaries are smoothed. While planning tool path, different strategies of tool path are adopted for different feature sub-regions. To generate constant scallop-height tool path from the sub-regions with irregular boundary, a method of original tool path generation is proposed, and the process of tool path projection and offset is improved. An instance illustrates that the growing principle based on machining feature formulation can make it efficient to segment the triangular mesh model, and the effective tool paths can be generated from different feature sub-regions with appropriate strategies.