Presented in the paper is a strategy for tool-making that enables a series of high-speed machining (HSM) operations to be generated that turn the initial stock into the finished part. The strategy is executed with an ordered series of cutters starting with the largest toroidal roughing cutters and finishing with the smallest finishing ball cutters. For each cutter, the current stock model is compared with the final surface model, to define an area of operation for that cutter. Operations are then scheduled for that cutter to remove all the material it can access within the area of operation, and leave the stock model with a reasonable finish ready for the next cutter. The concept is that the cascade of operations produced by the strategy enables good machining practices to be used throughout the process, and make best use of the advantages offered by HSM. Examples of the application of the strategy in several tool-rooms are presented.
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