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In 5-axis milling of sculptured surfaces,computer-aided process planning is essential to help select a suitable cutter and generate a valid tool path with high efficiency.To se1ect a suitable cutter and generate a valid tool path to cover tbe whole surface,one must be able to check the cutters accessibility at any point on the surface.To achieve high machining efficiency,optimization (e.g.,shortest tool path length while maintaining the machined surface error within a given tolerance) needs to be carried out.Due to the geometric complexity of the sculptured surface and the vast flexibility of the cutter motion,point-based solutions are the only options.Therefore,there are two kinds of challenges for automated process planning:(1) a set of solutions for cutter selection and tool path generation based on machining constraints and optimigation objectives,(2) a set of intelligent means that are able to reduce the computation load when implementing the solutions.In this paper,a comprehensive algorithm is introduced to obtain the accessible posture range(named accessibility map or A-map)of a cutter at a point on the surface.Based on the concept of A-map,a set of algorithms are developed for optimal cutter selection and tool path generation.In order to reduce the computation load,various means based on surface decomposition,cutter accessibility comparison,and interpolation have been incorporated into the aforementioned algorithms.By doing so,the automated process planning tasks are carried out in an integrated and efficient manner.An example is presented to validate the efficacy and efficiency of the developed aigorithms.