Comparative study of 3- and 5-axis CNC centers for free-form machining of difficult-to-cut material

The study demonstrates that if the algorithm is executed, the finish of the surface machined on a 3-axis center reaches a similar standard as can be achieved on a 5-axis center. Additionally, the machining time is reduced by over 17% when compared to the machining time required on the same 3-axis machine when the NC code is not optimized with the feed-rate adjustment algorithm. The cost effectiveness of the two alternatives is compared using the cost model, which is the research contribution and justifies the application of software technology for the machining of complex geometries on a 3-axis machine.