In the high-efficiency machining of blade parts according to the present invention, there is no reversal of the operating direction of a rotating shaft, and a high-quality machined surface can be obtained rapidly. A machining program is created for a workpiece such that: when a part having a convex curved surface and a concave curved surface, with a pair of edge portions as a boundary, is removal-machined, a virtual convex curve, the curvature of which is not inverted with respect to the convex curved surface, with the curves of the pair of edges as the tangent line, is set for the concave curved surface; a drive surface, for defining tool orientation without curvature inversion, is created by using the virtual convex curve, the convex curve set on the convex curved surface, and the convex curves set on the pair of edges; and a tool axis direction during removal machining is set on the basis of the normal direction of the drive surface for tool orientation definition.

In the high-efficiency machining of blade parts according to the present invention, there is no reversal of the operating direction of a rotating shaft, and a high-quality machined surface can be obtained rapidly. A machining program is created for a workpiece such that: when a part having a convex curved surface and a concave curved surface, with a pair of edge portions as a boundary, is removal-machined, a virtual convex curve, the curvature of which is not inverted with respect to the convex curved surface, with the curves of the pair of edges as the tangent line, is set for the concave curved surface; a drive surface, for defining tool orientation without curvature inversion, is created by using the virtual convex curve, the convex curve set on the convex curved surface, and the convex curves set on the pair of edges; and a tool axis direction during removal machining is set on the basis of the normal direction of the drive surface for tool orientation definition.

A machine tool includes a linear movement axis for moving a main spindle, at least two linear movement axes for moving a table, and a rotation table including at least one rotation axis, the rotation table being placed on the table. A numerical controller performs machining by executing a machining program for tool center point control where the tool orientation is fixed to a certain axis or a certain surface, and by changing the tool orientation by controlling each axis of the machine tool based on set tool use range and tool orientation change waveform pattern.

A robot employing an operation program setting apparatus is configured to move, based on an operation program, a tool attached to a distal end portion of an arm of the robot along a predetermined processing trajectory along a work object, the operation program makes posture of the tool change at at least a position along the predetermined processing trajectory, the position is a posture changing position. The setting apparatus includes a controller configured to add a command to the operation program, the command is for making the tool start to be inclined when the tool approaches the posture changing position within a range of an acceptable inclination angle, the range is an angle range within which the tool is allowed to be inclined with respect to a surface of the work object.

A numerical controller for controlling a machine tool having a parallel link mechanism specifies a commanded position and a commanded posture of a tool by analyzing a program command, corrects the commanded posture while maintaining the commanded position when a combination of the specified commanded position and commanded posture is not feasible, and outputs the commanded position and the corrected posture which has been corrected to the machine tool. In this way, machining in the unrealizable region is realised by the machine tool having the parallel link mechanism.

Systems and methods for tool orientation and/or position determining system are described herein. In one example, a plurality of tool sensors can be coupled to a tool. The tool sensors can provide data to a control module or system controller. The orientation and/or position of the tool can accordingly be determined from the data. If the orientation and/or position of the tool matches a desired orientation, the tool and/or control module can provide an indication that the tool is in the desired orientation.

An arc processing method is provided. Firstly, a machining program code is provided, wherein the machining program code includes a control code for machining an arc having a start point and an end point. Then, the machining program code is analyzed to obtain a first start point vector and a first end point vector, both defined by a first coordinate system, of a tool. Then, the first start point vector is converted to a second start point vector defined by a second coordinate system. Then, the first end point vector is converted to a second end point vector defined by the second coordinate system. Then, a plurality of first interpolation vectors of interpolation points, defined by the second coordinate system and interposed between the second start point vector and the second end point vector, are obtained. Then, all the first interpolation vectors are converted into corresponding second interpolation vectors.

Systems and methods for tool orientation and/or position determining system are described herein. In one example, a plurality of tool sensors can be coupled to a tool. The tool sensors can provide data to a control module or system controller. The orientation and/or position of the tool can accordingly be determined from the data. If the orientation and/or position of the tool matches a desired orientation, the tool and/or control module can provide an indication that the tool is in the desired orientation.

A numerical control device includes a tool-attitude vector tolerance input unit to accept a tolerance for correction amounts for tool-attitude vectors; a rotation-axis tolerance determining unit to determine, on the basis of tool attitudes calculated from rotation-axis angles before smoothing and of the tolerance for correction amounts for tool-attitude vectors, a tolerance for correction amounts for the rotation-axis angles; a rotation-axis angle smoothing unit to smooth the rotation-axis angles before smoothing so that change in the rotation-axis angle becomes smooth, thereby calculating rotation-axis angles after smoothing; and a rotation-axis angle determining unit to correct the rotation-axis angles after smoothing so as to fall within the tolerance for correction amounts for rotation-axis angles from the rotation-axis angles before smoothing.

A robot employing an operation program setting apparatus is configured to move, based on an operation program, a tool attached to a distal end portion of an arm of the robot along a predetermined processing trajectory along a work object, the operation program makes posture of the tool change at at least a position along the predetermined processing trajectory, the position is a posture changing position. The setting apparatus includes a controller configured to add a command to the operation program, the command is for making the tool start to be inclined when the tool approaches the posture changing position within a range of an acceptable inclination angle, the range is an angle range within which the tool is allowed to be inclined with respect to a surface of the work object.