Patent ID: 6832128
Filing Date: 2004-12-14
Classification: G05B,Y02P

Abstract:
A method for enhancing a surface quality of a workpiece to be machined by high-speed machining based on CNC program data before the workpiece is actually machined, the CNC program data including a set of points defining a surface in space, with the set of points including path points describing a space curve, said method performed by a program executed by a general purpose computer, the method comprising the steps ofdetermining and rendering associated normal vectors for a plurality of adjacent path points by forming two vectors from three consecutive path points and arranging a normal vector of an intermediate path point of the three consecutive path points as a vector product perpendicular on a plane spanned by the two vectors, wherein an orientation of the normal vector with respect to a side of the plane is selected depending on a curvature of the space curve at the intermediate path point; indicating surface regions having a high surface quality by normal vectors pointing in a substantially identical direction; indicating surface regions having flaws by normal vectors pointing in different directions; and optimizing the surface quality is by manipulating CNC program data until at least a majority of normal vectors point in the same direction.