J. Zhu, T. Tanaka, and Y. Saito (Japan)
Robotics, Surface Sculpturing, Simulation, Rough Machining, Hotwire cutting
Most rapid prototyping (RP) and CNC processes adopt slicing or contouring techniques to generate 2D tool path from the 3D model on each layer. In this research, a new rough-cut path planning process, which directly generates 3D tool path from the input model, is proposed. The generated path plan is validated by a virtual sculpturing simulator, and applied on the 8-axis robot based surface sculpturing system for actual machining. The 8-axis sculpturing system is composed of a 6-axis robot and a 2-axis worktable. It carves block of polystyrene foam by hotwire. According to the geometric feature, the system automatically simplifies the input model into a user specified resolution and generates a series of rough-cut models, which are composed of large, flat faces. Then according to the tool path generated by the developed CAM software, the rough-cut model is sculptured face by face.
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