Intelligent machining system for the artistic design of wooden paint rollers

In this paper, a 3D design and machining system based on a 3-axis NC machine tool with a rotary unit is introduced to efficiently produce the artistic design of wooden paint rollers. The paint rollers are used to execute a relief wall just after painting. A simple post-processor is first proposed for the NC machine tool to transform a base tool path called cutter location data (CL data) to NC data, mapping the y-directional pick feed to the rotational angle of the rotary unit. Also, the post-processor has a novel function that elaborately adjusts feed rate values according to the curvature of each design so as not to chip the carved surface. The suitable feed rate values are generated by using a simple fuzzy reasoning method while checking edges and curvatures in a relief design. The post-processor allows the 3-axis NC machine tool with a rotary unit to easily carve an artistic relief design on a cylindrical wooden workpiece without an undesirable edge chipping. Experimental results show that wooden paint rollers with an artistic relief design can be successfully machined without any chipping.