RESEARCHING AND DEVELOPING A POSTPROCESSOR FOR A 5-AXIS CNC MILLING MACHINE WITH A ROTARY HEAD

Abstract

To translate data from CAM software into CNC machine-readable code for
cutting and shaping, it needs to be converted into appropriate G-Code and M-
Code commands that correspond to different CNC controllers. Compiling such
code for 5-axis CNC machines is much more challenging than for 3-axis or 4-axis
machines, particularly for 5-axis machines with rotary heads, because the
machining program, after being compiled into G-Code and M-Code data,
depends not only on the CNC controller but also directly on the tool length. The
cost of each PostProcessor package is high and depends on the CAM software
providers. This study aims to develop a PostProcessor software for 5-axis CNC
machines with rotary heads, which takes standard CL Data as input and outputs
G-Code commands for the CNC machine to execute. The software is independent
of CAM software and can be compatible with various CNC controllers.