A flexible five-axis trochoidal milling method for machining complex 3D slots.

Trochoidal milling is an efficient machining technique that extends tool life and is widely used for slotting hard-to-cut materials. It offers the advantage of reducing cutting force, heat accumulation, and tool wear compared to conventional milling processes. However, due to the variable tool orientation in five-axis milling, trochoidal milling has been less commonly employed for machining 3D complex freeform slots. Existing 3D trochoidal milling methods primarily generate toolpaths by optimizing parameters based on fixed-curve paths, which do not fully leverage the efficient and stable characteristics of trochoidal milling. In this paper, a novel five-axis trochoidal milling method for machining complex 3D slots is proposed. This method generates the toolpath by determining suitable cutter location (CL) points by step, allowing flexible adjustment of the cutter-workpiece engagement (CWE) at each CL point. The CWE area must remain stable and maximized during the machining process to ensure stable cutting, reduce tool wear, and improve machining efficiency. An efficient and accurate CWE model for five-axis trochoidal milling slotting is established, and a multi-layer ruled surface fitting method to avoid interference is provided. Simulation and physical cutting experiments have been performed, and the results validate the effectiveness of the proposed method, which guarantees a stable cutting force and a 22.5% improvement in efficiency compared to the traditional method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]