6-Axis Control Finishing of Workpiece with Sculptured Surface

Abstract

The study deals with a new machining concept by making use of 6-axis control. 6-axis control implies that a cutting tool allows three rotational movements for positioning as well as three translational ones. A 6-axis control machining center equipped with a main spindle capable of tool orientation in addition to conventional 5-axis control structure is developed. A non-rotational cutting tool is mounted at the main spindle to carry out 6-axis control machining, which allows a variety of machining possibilities. In the study, a control software to finish workpieces with sculptured surface in the coarse pickfeed is presented together with cutting experiments. As a result, it is found that 6-axis control machining reveals the possibility of effective finishing.