Direct Toolpath Generation Based on Graph Theory for Milling Roughing

The paper presents a tool path generation methodology for roughing operation based on the oriented graph theory. The cutting areas are identified using an original method that is based on a bicolor and binary map. The toolpath is generated using the searching Dijkstra algorithm inside a graph in order to find the single-source shortest path. The method was employed in order to be applied on ordered and/or unordered point clouds. The entire algorithm was implemented into a mathematic calculus solution which allows the import of point clouds and its processing until the final NC code is generated.