Investigation of cutting speed influence on optimality of the tool path route for CNC laser cutting machines

This paper deals with the tool route optimization problem for CNC thermal cutting machines. The cutting time T
_cut
is an optimization criterion applied to the optimization problem. If the objective function is adequately calculated, then, the optimal route of the cutting tool can be computed. To properly calculate the objective function, the accurate values of objective function parameters need be known. Previous research have shown that the tool cutting speed depends on configuration of parts and frame numbers of the NC programs. The first part of the paper deals with formulas for the cutting speed calculation for 1010 steel with various thicknesses applied to the CNC laser cutting machine ByStar 3015. In the second part of the paper the examples of sheet cutting are considered in order to analyze the received formulas. The tool route is calculated provided that the primary cutting speed value is constant while the secondary one depends on frame numbers of the NC programs. In the future work, the research will be conducted for other materials with various thicknesses.