Existing commercial CAD/CAM systems allow the user to generate the cutter-p
ath for machining a 2-1/2D pocket by using only a single cutting-tool size.
Therefore, to avoid potential problems, such as gouging and unmachined are
as, the user tends to choose the size of the cutting-tool in a conservative
manner. This can result in longer processing time and higher production co
st than those that can be achieved by using multiple cutting-tool sizes to
machine a given pocket. The key to cutter-path generation using multiple cu
tting-tool sizes lies in having an efficient mechanism for representing the
material volumes that can be removed by a specified cutting-tool size and
the unmachined material volumes that will remain after its use. In this pap
er, we develop a novel concept called the Voronoi mountain and describe its
application to cutter-path generation using multiple cutting-tool sizes. T
he theoretical significance of this approach stems from its ability to: (i)
to create a Voronoi mountain representation of unmachined material volumes
without having to construct the corresponding Voronoi diagram; and (ii) to
accommodate generalized pocket geometries.