Improving Tool Paths for Impellers

      Impellers are important components in the field of aerospace, energy technology, and precision machine industries. Considering the high accuracy and structural integrity, impellers might be manufactured by cutting. Due to their complex geometries and high degree of interference in maching, multi-axis machines are requested to produce impellers.

      The object of this thesis is to improve 5-axis tool paths for surface quality of impellers by smoothing point cutting tool paths in terms of linear segment and B-Spline tool paths. Experimental results show that the surface quality of impeller blades can be improved by point cutting with smoothed tool paths and by flank milling. Moreover, the required milling time can be reduced by 18 percent and 13 percent based on smoothed linear tool paths and smoothed B-Spine tool paths, respectively.