Reduction of Roughing Process by Near-Net Shape Manufacturing Using Sheet Metal Laminated Molds Available to Purchase

This study proposes the way to reduce the rouging process by using sheet metal laminated molds to create a near-net shape of a product. To accomplish this, it developed a system that automatically outputs the numerical control (NC) program for laser cutting to create a sheet metal laminated mold from the computer-aided design (CAD) data of the product in standard triangulated language (STL) format. It also developed a system that automatically generates the NC program for medium roughing and finishing. The system eliminates air cut motions of the NC program by using the near-net shape information and the tool path calculated with round bar work materials. By actual machining, the effectiveness of this system was confirmed.