Jerk decision for free-form surface effects in multi-axis synchronization manufacturing

Five-axis CNC tool machines have been widely used in the aerospace and automotive industries for complex and special-purpose mold production as smart machines. Obtaining good surface quality and manufacturing speed for the designed parts is always a challenging issue in a high-speed machining process. Researchers have provided several algorithms to smooth the trajectory profile or servo controller design to get good product quality. For the multi-axis synchronous motion, only a few researchers have discussed the interaction between the machine’s dynamic ability and tool path/trajectory generation. To ensure synchronous motion, the dynamic performance of each axis becomes a constraint for the frequency of the designed trajectory command. According to this requirement, a maximum jerk value in the trajectory generator could be calculated first, and then, combined with the machining method selected for the parts. A novel jerk value decision-making process is proposed for the parts machining process in this study. This new approach to obtain a better finished surface quality and shorten the machining time without adding supplemental equipment or information is demonstrated experimentally on a five-axis CNC machine for a free-form vane that could help machining operators take maximum advantage of the smart production techniques.