Automatic Machine Tool Path Generation

本文主要研究复杂曲面加工刀具轨迹的自动生成与验证。这项工作的初始阶段将寻求推广与福特汽车公司合作完成的雕刻面刀具轨迹验证工作。这里的主要问题是检测由于刀具选择不当而导致的欠切和过切；将使用z缓冲区方法，算法效率是一个核心问题。后续阶段的研究将集中在用于表示加工雕塑曲面的高效数据结构，以及自动刀具路径生成问题的替代方法上。

This research is focused on the automatic generation and verification of cutter paths for machining sculptured surfaces. The initial phases of the work will seek to generalize work done collaboratively with the Ford Motor Company on sculptured-surface cutter-path verification. The main problem here is detecting under- and over-cutting due to improper cutter selection; a z-buffer approach will be used, and algorithmic efficiency is a central concern. Later phases of the research will focus on efficient data structures for representing machined sculptured surfaces, and on alternative approaches to the automatic cutter-path generation problem.