A local smoothing interpolation method for short line segments to realize continuous motion of tool axis acceleration

In traditional processing, a large number of G01 blocks are adopted to discretize free surface or curve for NC machining. But, the continuity of G01 line segments is only C0, which may lead to discontinuity of axis acceleration, resulting in the frequent fluctuation of tool motion at the junctions in high-speed machining, deteriorating the quality of work piece, and reducing processing efficiency. To solve this problem, a local smoothing interpolation method is proposed in this paper. At first, the analytic relationship between the continuity of the trajectory and the continuity of the axes motion is first systematically described by formula. Based on this relationship, a local smoothing algorithm and a feed-rate scheduling method are proposed to generate a C2 continuous tool path motion with axis-acceleration continuity. The local smoothing algorithm smoothes the corners of G01 blocks by the cubic B-spline according to the cornering error tolerance specified by the user. After the feed rate at critical points of smoothed tool path was determined by a modified bidirectional scanning algorithm by considering constrains of chord error and kinematic property, an iterative S-shape feed rate scheduling is employed to minimize residual distance caused by round of time while ensuring the continuity of feed rate and acceleration. Then, a look-ahead interpolation strategy combined with smoothing algorithm and feed-rate scheduling as mentioned is proposed for real-time interpolation of short line segments. At last, simulations are conducted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed methods. Compared with the traditional G01 interpolation, it can significantly improve the processing efficiency and shorten the processing time within error tolerance.