Five-axis Tri-NURBS Spline Interpolation Method Considering Nonlinear Error Compensation and Correction of CC Paths

Abstract

In order to improve the accuracy of tool axis vector position and direction in traditional five-axis NURBS interpolation methods and the controlling accuracy of cutter contacting(CC) paths between cutter and work-piece, a five-axis Tri-NURBS spline interpolation method is presented in this article. Firstly, the spline interpolation instruction format is proposed, which includes three spline curves, such as CC point spline, tool center point spline and tool axis point spline. The next interpolation parameter is calculated based on the tool center point spline combined with the conventional parametric interpolation idea. Different from the traditional spline interpolation using the same interpolation parameter for all spline curves, the idea of equal ratio configuration of parameters is proposed in this paper to obtain the next interpolation parameter of each spline curve. The next interpolation tool center point, tool axis point and CC point on the above three spline curves can be obtained by using different interpolation parameters, so as to improve the accuracy of tool axis vector position and direction. Secondly, the producing mechanism of CC paths’ nonlinear error of the traditional spline interpolation is analyzed and the mathematical calculation model of the nonlinear error is established. And then, the nonlinear error compensation and correction method is also put forward to improve the controlling accuracy of CC paths. In this method, the next CC point on the cutter can be firstly obtained according to the next interpolation tool center point, tool axis point and CC point on the three spline curves. And then, the error compensation vector is determined with the two next CC points. To correct the nonlinear error between the next CC point on the cutter and the CC point spline curve, the cutter is translated so that the two next CC points can be coincided. In the end, the new tool center point and tool axis point after translation can be calculated to obtain the motion control coordinates of each axis of machine tool. The MATLAB software is used as simulation of the real machining data. The results show that the proposed method can effectively reduce the CC paths’ nonlinear error. It has high practical value for five-axis machining in effectively controlling the accuracy of CC paths and im-proving the machining accuracy of complex surfaces.