No description available.

During the past three years, a research project has been carried out in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at UCT, directed at developing a system to accurately reproduce three-dimensional (3D), sculptured surfaces on a three axis computer numerically controlled (CNC) milling machine. Sculptured surfaces are surfaces that cannot easily be represented mathematically. The project was divided into two parts: the development of an automatic noncontact 3D measuring system, and the development of a milling system capable of machining 30 sculptured surfaces (Back, 1988). The immediate need for such a system exists for the manufacture of medical prostheses. The writer undertook to investigate the measurement system, .with the objective to develop a non-contact measuring system that can be used to 'map' a sculptured surface so that it can be represented by a set of XYZ coordinates in the form required by the milling system developed by Back (1988). This thesis describes the development of a PC-based near-realtime photogrammetry system (PHOENICS) for surf ace capture. The topic is introduced by describing photogrammetric principles as used for non-contact measurements of objects. A number of different algorithms for image target detection, centering and matching is investigated. The approach to image matching adopted was the projection of a regular grid onto the surface with subsequent matching of conjugate grid intersections. A general algorithm which automatically detects crosses on a line and finds their accurate centres was developed. This algorithm was then extended from finding the crosses on a line, to finding all the intersection points of a grid. The algorithms were programmed in TRUE BASIC and specifically adapted for use with PHOENICS as an object point matching tool. The non-contact surface measuring technique which was developed was used in conjunction with the milling system developed by Back (1988) to replicate a test object. This test proved that the combined system is suitable for the manufacture of sculptured surf aces. The accuracy requirements for the manufacture of medical prostheses can be achieved with the combined measuring and milling system. At an object-to-camera distance of 0.5 m, points on a surface can be measured with an accuracy of approximately 0.3 mm at an interval of 5 mm. This corresponds to a relative accuracy of 1:1600. Back (1988) reported an average undercutting error of 0.46 mm for the milling system. This combines to an uncertainty of 0.55 mm. Finally, the limitations of PHOENICS at its prototype stage as a surface measuring tool are discussed, in particular the factors influencing the system's accuracy. PHOENICS is an ongoing project and the thesis is concluded by some recommendations for further research work.

The servosystems which drive a milling table must be capable of asymptotic tracking and disturbance rejection, and must be robust. The internal model principle is a general method developed by Davison, Desoer and Wonham which achieves asymptotic tracking and disturbance rejection, and is robust. In this thesis, a state-variable control system for the positioning of a milling table is designed by using the internal model principle. The control system is simulated as both a continuous-time system and as a discrete-time system. Results of the simulation indicate that a microprocessor-driven version of the state-variable discrete-time control system is a feasible and practical method of control. / M.S.

The objective of the study is to utilize the cross-sectional computation capabilities of a computer to calculate the revolutions per minute, to determine the volume of metal being removed by the machine cutter at any point in the programmed path, and to output the feed rate that the particular situation requires. The six chapters which present the information are as follows: Chapter I, introduction; Chapter II, analysis of factors affecting the computation of speed and feed rate parameters; Chapter III, organization of the input by the numerical control programmer; Chapter IV, modifications to the computer software; Chapter V, evaluation of the benefits of utilizing computed speed and feed rates; Chapter VI, summary, findings, conclusions, and recommendations.