Tool wear condition monitoring using a sensor fusion model based on fuzzy inference system

One of the biggest problems in manufacturing is the failure of machine tools due to loss of surface material in cutting operations like drilling and milling. Carrying on the process with a dull tool may damage the workpiece material fabricated. On the other hand, it is unnecessary to change the cutting tool if it. is still able to continue cutting operation. Therefore, an effective diagnosis mechanism is necessary for the automation of machining processes so that production loss and downtime can be avoided. This study concerns with the development of a tool wear condition-monitoring technique based on a two-stage fuzzy logic scheme. For this, signals acquired from various sensors were processed to make a decision about the status of the tool. In the first stage of the proposed scheme, statistical parameters derived from thrust force, machine sound (acquired via a very sensitive microphone) and vibration signals were used as inputs to fuzzy process; and the crisp output values of this process were then taken its the input parameters of the second stage. Conclusively, outputs of this stage were taken into a threshold function, the output of which is used to assess the condition of the tool. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.