APPLICATION OF 3D COMPUTER GRAPHICS TO ENHANCE THE RELIABILITY OF MANUFACTURING WORK CELLS

A NOVEL SOLID MODELING METHOD WILL BE APPLIED TO ASSIST IN THE RELIABLE AND EFFICIENT OPERATION OF CERTAIN KEY COMPONENTS OF AN AUTOMATED MANUFACTURING CELL. THE FOCUS WILL BE ON THE VALIDATION OF THE INPUT PROGRAM FOR NUMERICAL CONTROLLED (NC) MACHINES. HOWEVER APPLICATIONS TO REAL-TIME MOTION PLANNING FOR ROBOTS AND COORDINATE MEASURING MACHINE PROBES REPRESENT IMPORTANT "SPIN-OFF" BENEFITS. THE PROJECT WILL PROVIDE AN EFFICIENT AND ECONOMICAL MECHANISM TO GENERATE A 3D GRAPHICAL EMULATION OF NC MACHINING, PROVIDING DIMENSIONAL INFORMATION AND CHECKS FOR UNDESIRED TOOL/SPINDLE/FIXTURE/ WORKPIECE COLLISIONS. MULTI-AXIS TOOL MOTIONS AND A SPECTRUM OF MILLING TOOL GEOMETRICS WILL BE ACCOMMODATED. IN ADDITION, AN AUTOMATED VERIFICATION CAPABILITY WILL BE CREATED. THESE PROGRAMS ARE FEASIBLE BECAUSE OF CERTAIN SPECIAL FEATURES OF THE PROPOSED SOLID MODEL SYSTEM, PARTICULARLY A CAPABILITY FOR VERY FAST ROOLEAN OPERATIONS.