An adaptive off-line NURBS interpolator for CNC machining

As a key technique in CNC machining, nonuniform rational B-spline (NURBS) interpolator has been proposed to overcome the drawbacks caused by linear and circular interpolator, such as large data size, velocity discontinuity, shocks or variations in mechanical systems, and low machining efficiency. To improve machining quality and efficiency, an adaptive off-line interpolator was developed for NURBS curves in this paper. Both the chord accuracy and the acceleration/deceleration capability of machine tool are considered in the algorithm. There are four modules in the algorithm, adaptive feed rate adjustment, acceleration/deceleration disposal, feed rate modification, and S-type velocity generation. The acceleration/deceleration around the sharp corners is carefully calculated by those modules. A case study was provided to evaluate the feasibility of the interpolator.