This study analyses the impact of the toolpath selection on energy consumption, machining time, and surface quality when milling 6061-aluminium alloy. Ten cavities were milled using a 9.525 mm flat milling cutter, with a three-axis CNC. Five toolpaths were defined: Spiral, Zigzag, NT Spiral, NT Zigzag and Vortex. Each cavity's energy consumption and time were recorded while performing the milling process. Once the block was milled, the surface roughness was measured using the Ra parameter.

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... ness results were in the range of 1.0 to 2.5 µm. It was found that the cutting parameters had a greater influence on the increase in surface roughness. Toolpath does not seem to have a remarkable influence on roughness, using the same cutting conditions. The results showed that the Spiral trajectory took up to 69% less time than the other trajectories, it is among the trajectories that consumed the least energy (up to 13%) and the roughness was up to 33% lower. Spiral seems to be the better alternative according to the variables analysed in this paper.