A cutting apparatus includes a container including a holder in which a workpiece having an adapter attached thereto is held, a reading target applied to the adapter, an optical sensor to optically read the reading target, a memory storing a position coordinate of the holder and a theoretical position coordinate of the reading target associated with the position coordinate of the holder, a reader to read the reading target using the optical sensor to acquire an image of the reading target, a calculator to determine, in accordance with the image acquired by the reader, an actual position coordinate of the reading target to calculate a correction value from a difference between the actual position coordinate and the theoretical position coordinate, and an updater to update, using the correction value calculated by the calculator, the position coordinate of the holder stored in the memory.

An additive manufacturing (AM) system is disclosed for constructing a three dimensional (3D) part with optimized orthotropy. The system combines an electronic processor which calculates an optimal set of physically achievable toolpaths to meet a given design objective, and a 3D printing direct ink write machine capable of printing inks with reinforcing particles that result in orthotropic materials. The electronic processor may combine a Domain of Interest subsystem that transforms a mathematical description of a desired part orthotropy to a plurality of guidepaths, a toolpath generate subsystem that develops a plurality of physically realizable toolpaths from those guidepaths with a minimum number of starts and stops, a finite element subsystem that computes spatially varying material orthotropy from those toolpaths and then solves a boundary value problem to determine a figure of merit for the design, and an optimization subsystem that uses that figure of merit to update the mathematical description of the part orthotropy to iteratively develop an improved part. The optimization subsystem also includes convergence criteria to indicate when toolpaths have been achieved that yield a sufficiently optimal part has been achieved. The toolpath generate can then output the final toolpaths, which are converted to suitable code that controls the motion of the 3D printer toolhead and allows the optimized 3D part to be manufactured.

An additive manufacturing (AM) system is disclosed for constructing a three dimensional (3D) part with optimized orthotropy. The system combines an electronic processor which calculates an optimal set of physically achievable toolpaths to meet a given design objective, and a 3D printing direct ink write machine capable of printing inks with reinforcing particles that result in orthotropic materials. The electronic processor may combine a Domain of Interest subsystem that transforms a mathematical description of a desired part orthotropy to a plurality of guidepaths, a toolpath generate subsystem that develops a plurality of physically realizable toolpaths from those guidepaths with a minimum number of starts and stops, a finite element subsystem that computes spatially varying material orthotropy from those toolpaths and then solves a boundary value problem to determine a figure of merit for the design, and an optimization subsystem that uses that figure of merit to update the mathematical description of the part orthotropy to iteratively develop an improved part. The optimization subsystem also includes convergence criteria to indicate when toolpaths have been achieved that yield a sufficiently optimal part has been achieved. The toolpath generate can then output the final toolpaths, which are converted to suitable code that controls the motion of the 3D printer toolhead and allows the optimized 3D part to be manufactured.

An end mill machining apparatus, a CAM apparatus, an NC program, and a machining method which suppress regenerative self-excited vibration and mode-coupling self-excited vibration. An end mill machining apparatus includes an end mill, and a control section for controlling the end mill. The ratio of the protrusion length of the end mill to the diameter of the end mill falls within a range of 5 to 50. The end mill is a variable pitch, uniform helix type or a variable helix type. The control section controls the end mill such that the contact angle between the end mill and a workpiece M1 during machining becomes equal to or smaller than a critical contact angle .sub.lim.

A control device includes a control part which generates a torque command based on a resultant command, which is obtained by adding a position deviation, which is the difference between a position command and the actual position of a feed shaft, to an oscillation command to control the feed shaft, and an elastic deformation amount calculation part which calculates the elastic deformation amount of a structure composed of a tool or workpiece and the feeding mechanism therefor based on the torque command. An oscillation command generation part generates the above oscillation command based on the rotation speed of the workpiece, the position command of the feed shaft, and the above elastic deformation amount.

An end mill machining apparatus, a CAM apparatus, an NC program, and a machining method which suppress regenerative self-excited vibration and mode-coupling self-excited vibration. An end mill machining apparatus includes an end mill, and a control section for controlling the end mill. The ratio of the protrusion length of the end mill to the diameter of the end mill falls within a range of 5 to 50. The end mill is a variable pitch, uniform helix type or a variable helix type. The control section controls the end mill such that the contact angle between the end mill and a workpiece M1 during machining becomes equal to or smaller than a critical contact angle .sub.lim.

A control device includes a control part which generates a torque command based on a resultant command, which is obtained by adding a position deviation, which is the difference between a position command and the actual position of a feed shaft, to an oscillation command to control the feed shaft, and an elastic deformation amount calculation part which calculates the elastic deformation amount of a structure composed of a tool or workpiece and the feeding mechanism therefor based on the torque command. An oscillation command generation part generates the above oscillation command based on the rotation speed of the workpiece, the position command of the feed shaft, and the above elastic deformation amount.

A controller controls a machine tool that rotates a cutting tool attached to a spindle to cut a workpiece in accordance with a machining program. The controller identifies, when the machining program is executed to cause the cutting tool to cut into the workpiece, a position where the cutting tool has come into contact with the workpiece for the first time and a machining direction at the time when the cutting tool has cut into the workpiece, and inserts, in the machining program, a roll-in path instruction having an end point set to the identified position at which the cutting tool has come into contact with the workpiece for the first time.

Improvements in a high speed smooth tool path is presented where the high speed smooth tool path to be used for primarily finishing for finishing any type of walls (negative/positive drafted) for any given bounded region be it 3, 4, 5, . . . n sided shape. The tool path incorporates a combined strategy for finishing the walls while removing any excess material leftover from a previous larger diameter cutter. This tool-motion can be utilized for roughing the regions by approximating the walls by offsetting the regions inwards. The finished boundaries are offset inwards and then cut using these methods. This is optimized as opposed to moving the cutter at a consistent speed in the cutting path. This is performed to eliminate the wasted tool-motion to the maximum extent. This technique is implemented for roughing any closed or open bounded areas regardless of the walls being straight, drafted (negative/positive or both).

A tool center path is compensated so that the number of collisions with a workpiece in positions on cutter tips complies with use frequencies in cutter tip information, based on tool information including the diameter of a tool and the number of cutter tips attached to the tool, a tool center movement path specified by a machining program, workpiece shape data, and cutter tip information.