Accessibility Map for Assisting Cutter Posture Determination in Five-Axis Mold Machining

Herein, we propose a novel technique, referred to as “accessibility map,” to aid tool path computation for five-axis machining. In tool path computation, two problems must be solved: determination of the tool position and determination of its posture. Our technique is useful for the latter task. The posture of the tool is determined so that a certain clearance can be ensured between the tool and the mold surface, to prevent collision between them. A smooth posture change in the machining process must also be considered while determining the posture. The accessibility map records the potential posture information that can be used by the tool in mold surface machining. The use of the proposed technique can reduce the cost for determining the tool posture in the tool path computation for five-axis machining.