Hi

I am a fairly new roboticist / machine designer and am looking for resources to help with a project I am working on.

I have been scouring the internet for resources in programming custom toolpath generators, as in programming the package that creates the toolpath, rather than how to use existing CAM or gcode. I have seen a lot of papers on voronoi diagrams and the classic papers by Martin Held etc.

However it is very difficult to find open source code examples (preferably c / c++ or python) with in depth explanation over the whole process, from part to path.

There are some in-depth academic treatments, but with special focuses on issues such as using AI or process optimisation. I have some texts on computational geometry also which have been informative.

Is there a recommended text for students that covers toolpath generation and creating custom CAM programs?

I am also looking for something similar for machine design and specifically 5 axis kinematics. I have been deriving my own for a new machine but would like some additional examples to verify my working. If there is some "bible" available on machine design that covers 5 axis kinematics it would be great to know about. A simple search on google and amazon came up emtpy, but as is so often the case knowing the right search terms is often the difference between success and failure!

Alternatively textbook resources on spray painting robots would also be useful.

Thanks for reading!