LAUSR

Abstract Nowadays, free-form surfaces have been widely used in various industrial fields. They are usually machined by CNC machine tools, but recently have also begun to be manufactured by industrial robotic arm manipulators, thanks to low cost, large operation reaching space and high machining flexibility of robot. So far, various methodologies have been proposed to improve efficiency and quality of free-form surface machining, thus this paper aims at providing a state-of-the-art review on research advances in free-form surface machining. In this review, tool path generation, feedrate scheduling in Cartesian space and trajectory planning in joint space are focused for both CNC machining and robot machining, and their research statues, existing difficulties and key issues are discussed in detail. Finally, the feasible routes, breakthrough points and future development trend are also expounded.