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Abstract: This paper presents a floor–wall and ceiling (FWC) approach to determining the tool axes for five-axis pocket machining. The FWC method generates tool axes by simply linking the corresponding points between tool location paths on floor and tool axial paths on ceiling. The geometry of the floor, wall, and ceiling of a pocket are first discussed. The construction and manipulations of the tool location paths and the tool axial paths are then addressed. The relationship between the tool axis variation and the manipulations is analyzed such that the generated tool axes are guaranteed to be smooth, optimized, and collision-free. By using the FWC method, the complexity of determining the tool axes can be significantly reduced. Computer illustrations and example demonstrations are shown in this paper. The results reveal that the FWC method can generate much higher quality tool axes than the traditional methods. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]