• CN: 11-2187/TH
  • ISSN: 0577-6686

Journal of Mechanical Engineering ›› 2023, Vol. 59 ›› Issue (6): 272-284.doi: 10.3901/JME.2023.06.272

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Normal Vector Optimization Technology of Five-axis FDM Cladding Path Based on Minimum AC Rotation Angle Change

LIU Hao, CHEN Zhengying, SHEN Kai, XIONG Xuhui   

  1. College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016
  • Received:2022-04-16 Revised:2022-09-20 Online:2023-03-20 Published:2023-06-03

Abstract: Five-axis cladding is achieved by rotating the workpiece on an AC turntable so that the nozzle axis coincides as closely as possible with the normal vector of the surface to be clad. The nozzle axes are positioned by offline calculation of the surface normal vector based on AC rotation angle. The difference between the AC angles of two neighbouring points on the cladding path can be large due to noise and shape characteristics of the surface, which makes the path between two points automatically interpolated by the control system very different from the line connecting two points, resulting in workpiece damage or cladding quality reduction. To overcome this shortcoming, this paper proposes an optimization method of AC rotation angle based on a genetic algorithm, so that the difference of AC rotation angle between adjacent points is as small as possible. Based on this, the five command variables (X, Y, Z, A, C) of the points with large differences are further linearly interpolated to achieve path optimisation. The algorithm has been integrated into a self-developed five-axis FDM 3D printing system, and its effectiveness has been verified by several cladding examples of complex surfaces.

Key words: AC rotation angle, cladding path, normal vector optimization, genetic algorithm, iteration

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