Process monitoring for machine tools - Technical and business issues

Process monitoring systems provide significant economic benefits when applied to machine tools and machining processes. Traditional tool monitoring systems have used several sensor technologies and time domain algorithms to detect a variety of faults including overloads and broken cutting tools. This presentation discusses the technology trends and business issues of machine tool monitoring systems. While traditional tool monitoring systems detect a variety of typical fault conditions, they often lack a characterization or diagnostic component. Recent research has focused on the development of process diagnostics and remote connectivity capabilities, A combined mechanistic modeling and data analysis approach has been used to study machining process faults in milling, drilling, and tapping and to develop a number of diagnostic indices for process monitoring and characterization. The future direction of monitoring systems for tool monitoring include CNC integrated hardware, multiple sensors, multipurpose monitoring including cutting tool, process, and related machine components, and remote connectivity for setup and diagnostics.