Selection of master cutter paths in sculptured surface machining by employing curvature principle

In the Isoscallop strategy of sculptured surface machining, one of the surface edges is generally chosen as the Master Cutter Path (MCP)-from which other cutter paths are derived such that the roughness produced is uniform. In this paper, the MCPs have been chosen from the maximum or minimum curvature loci of the surface. Those loci that divide the surface into distinct zones of similar curvature are adopted as MCPs. Secondary cutter path generation is carried out employing standard isoscallop formulation and problems associated with multiple MCPs have been identified and addressed. MCPs along the locus of maximum convex curvature lead to a considerable reduction in machining time while those for minimum curvature (maximum flatness) yield a reduction in CL data file size.