Determination of optimal path under approach and exit constraints

To economize machining process used in component manufacturing a number of procedures are used. Typical parameters which are optimized are feed rate, spindle speed, depth of cut, machining time etc. Almost no consideration is given to non-productive machining time, which is an important parameter on modern computer numerical control machine tools. Its importance is further augmented in the area of numerically controlled cutting where surface area to thickness ratio is high. The problem is formulated as a large scale traveling salesman problem. The cases of symmetric, asymmetric, and mixed symmetric asymmetric TSP in two dimensions are presented. The stochastic search procedure simulated annealing algorithm is used to solve these instances of TSP. The perturbation scheme is modified for asymmetric graph and mixed symmetric asymmetric graph TSPs. An investigation is also carried out for empirically finding a suitable value of acceptance probability for random topology of nodes. Effect of problem size and node distribution on the convergence is also monitored. Solution of symmetric, asymmetric, and mixed symmetric asymmetric TSPs are provided. This solution allows the optimization of non-productive movement thus reducing the machine tool resident time and the power consumption. The solution is also applicable to a number of other areas such as multi axes production machinery, pick and place technology, and quality control machines.