MACHINING SURFACES COMPOSED OF CYCLIDE PATCHES

Cyclide surfaces have attracted the attention of CAD/CAM researchers i n the last decade. Thus far, the main focus of research in cyclides, h as been its use in shape design. In this paper we consider the problem of generating NC tool paths for machining parts designed with cyclide surfaces. We describe details of generating three kinds of cutter pat hs - planar section, iso-parametric and iso-curvature tool paths. We a lso propose metrics for evaluation of cutter paths. These methods have been implemented in a prototype system. The design module of the syst em (not dealt with in this paper) allows the user to construct free fo rm surfaces composed of cyclide patches. Using the machining module, d escribed in detail in this paper, a part programmer has the option to generate the aforementioned tool paths. In addition to the algorithmic details, we provide examples of implementation and fabrication of phy sical prototypes.