Abstract: To meet the demands of high-speed machining of continuous short-segments, a high-speed interpolator based on the space arc transition is proposed. A mathematical model of arc transition is built. Meanwhile, the relative theory and algorithm of the transition’s geometrical restriction, motion restriction, parameter calculation, as well as the space arc interpolation are researched. Furthermore, some relative problems of engineering implement, such as the applying scale of algorithm, the factors of efficiency restriction and computational complexity are analyzed in detail. Simulations and machining experiments show that the proposed algorithm can significantly enhance machining efficiency, reduce vibration and improve surface quality of workpieces. The space arc interpolation algorithm as basis of space arc transition algorithm is applicable to arc interpolation in arbitrary plane. Machining experiments are taken to verify the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms which have already been applied to in-house developed computer numerical control (CNC) platform.

Key words: continuous short-segments interpolation, space circle interpolation, space arc transition, high-speed contour machining, numerical control systems