Development of Cutting Tool Selection Module for 2.5D Pocket Machining

For CNC machining of a pocket, the selection of cutting tool set significantly affects the machining efficiency especially on rough machining. However, there is no selection module integrated in CAD/CAM software to consider this problem. This paper presents an effective method in selecting the optimal tool set for machining 2.5D pockets based on the main geometry information of the 2.5D pocket. The proposed algorithm focuses on several important factors such as machining time and cutting tool cost. The automatic selection module can yield a “near-optimal” the cutting tool set for 2.5D pocket machining from the specific cutting tool database. An example is presented to validate the uitility performmace, effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed method.