Improving machined surface textures in avoiding five-axis singularities considering tool orientation angle changes

•A tool orientation translation method is developed to avoid the five-axis singularities.•The mechanism of irregular machined surface textures is analyzed.•The tool orientation changes are controlled by an intelligent optimization algorithm.•The machined surface textures are greatly improved.

This paper looks into the irregular machined surface textures appearing in the process of avoiding five-axis singularities using the C-space based tool orientation translation method. At first, the mechanism for the appearances of the irregular surface textures is analyzed. A cutting simulation in VERICUT reveals that irregular surface textures are actually caused by lacking control of the tool orientation angles in the orientation modification process. Realizing that, a modified particle swarm optimization (PSO) is intergraded into the previous tool orientation translation method. In the PSO, the particle evolving equations are redefined and a mutation operation is added. The objective of the PSO is to find an optimal translating vector in the C-space so that the changed tool orientation angles can reach minimum values. In this way, the surface textures can be controlled. Three comparative cutting experiments with fillet endmills are carried out to verify the effect of the proposed method. The experimental results show that: (1) with the tool orientation translation method, the five-axis singular problem can be well avoided; and (2) with the optimal translating vector found by the PSO, the machined surface textures can be greatly improved.