Decision-making Tool for Moving from 3-axes to 5-axes CNC Machine-tool

Nowadays most of the parts within machine-building industry are machines on CNC machine-tools. According to their mechanical and kinematic structure, CNC machine-tools can be divided into 3-axes and 5-axes ones. Each type has its advantages and drawbacks and choosing between them could be a very difficult process. This paper presents a decision support tool for aiding the process of selecting between using and/or buying either a 3-axes CNC milling machine or a 5-axes milling machine, based upon fuzzy logic. The tool was built using the Fuzzy Logic Toolbox and the fuzzy graphical user interface (GUI) within Matlab software package.