An Effective Numerical Control Machining Process Optimization Approach of Part With Complex Pockets for Numerical Control Process Reuse

Recently, various process reuse technologies have come to be widely used in manufacturing. The existing methods mainly focus on searching and reusing similar NC processes. For the optimization of process schemes generated by reusable NC machining processes, however, no effective strategy has yet been proposed, especially when it comes to complex parts with intersecting features. To address this issue, we present, here, an effective NC machining process optimization approach of the part with complex pockets for NC process reuse. This approach involves two levels, that of the machining feature and that of the part. In the former case, the cutting tool and a cutting depth of the machining region is first optimized by making full use of the tool's machining capacity and avoiding air-cutting. In the latter case, the cutting sequence of the machining regions is further optimized in the macro process so as to maintain the efficiency of the process scheme. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is verified by a jag of the electronic product and an aircraft structural in our developed prototype system based on CATIA. The presented method can be integrated into commercial CAD/CAM software for rapid NC programming.