Abstract
This study proposes a new tool path planning scheme for 5-axis flank milling of ruled surfaces to overcome deficiencies in previous works. This scheme converted the tool path planning into an optimal matching problem with the total error on a machined surface as the objective function. Based on response surface methodology (RSM) and efficient sampling, it approximated and accelerated estimation of the machining error, which involves non-linear computation and has no closed-form solutions. A particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm was applied to search for optimal solutions with minimized errors. Simulation results validated the effectiveness of the proposed scheme on systematic generation of force constrained tool motions with precise error control. This work provides an effective approach that solves a high-dimensional optimization problem with statistical techniques. The practicality of 5-axis tool path planning is thus enhanced.