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外文文献原文 Tool path generation for triangular meshes using least-squares conformal map Tool path generation is an interesting and challenging task in free-form surface machining. Iso-planar tool path generation is one of the common approaches to dealing with this task. However, it suffers from an inherent drawback that intersecting intervals of the iso-planar method are limited to surface geometric features. This results in poor machining efficiency in flat regions due to redundant machining paths. For this problem, a new tool path generation method for triangular meshes is proposed based on the least-squares conformal map (LSCM). After LSCM parameterisation with minimal stretching energy, the triangular meshes are unfolded on a plane, where the principal component analysis (PCA) technique is employed to determine a suitable drive line for calculating cutter contact paths by the iso-planar strategy. Therefore, the tool paths are generated in a plane and the unevenness of the traditional iso-planar method is improved. The feasibility and effectiveness of the developed method is demonstrated through a test experiment. Keywords: tool path generation; triangular meshes; least-squares conformal map; iso-planar method; free-form surfaces. Introduction Over the past decades, various products have been designed and manufactured with free-form surfaces. Examples of such applications include blades of aircraft engines, automotive bodies, precision moulds and mobile telephone casings (Choi 2003). Due to relative cheapness and common availability, 3-axis milling has been becoming the most popular method for machining free-form surfaces. When machining these surfaces by CNC machining tools, one of the basic problems encountered is the tool path generation.The process of tool path generation is to determine a sequence of cutter contact (CC) points or cutter localisation (CL) points that guide the cutter to generate the desired part. Since the quality of the tool path affects the fi