Finding the maximal cutter for 2-D milling operations

In this paper, we describe a new geometricalgorithm to determine the biggest feasible cutter size for 2-D
milling operations to be performed using a single cutter. In
particular:
•
We give a general definition of the problem as the task of
covering a target region without interfering with an
obstruction region. This definition encompasses the task
of milling a general 2-D profile that includes both open
and closed edges.
•
We discuss three alternative definitions of what it means
for a cutter to be feasible, and explain which of these
definitions is most appropriate for the above problem.
•
We present a geometric algorithm for finding the maximal
cutter for 2-D milling operations, and we give an outline
of a proof that our algorithm is correct.