Abstract: By analysis of the validity of tool path, tool path planning is divided into two processes, the choice of curves on surface and the design of effective and rational path arrangement. On this basis, a spiral topology toolpath for continuous cutfing is developed in order to reduce the number of interruptions and rapid traversals during high-speed machining (HSM) process. Based on the isoparametric toolpath, the contour-parallel isoparametric path is firstly created, and then a spiral path is generated as a kind of diagonal curve between the isoparametric offset curves. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method is straightforward and avoids the self-intersection of the toolpath, especially suitable for HSM.

Key words: Free-form surface, NC machining, Spiral toolpath