The monitoring of tools in machine tools for wear of the cutting edge and tool fracture has been done increasingly for the last 20 years.

Since machines today often work unattended, automatic monitoring of the condition of the tool is required. Because the working spaces, for example of CNC lathes, are increasingly encapsulated, the machine operator has little opportunity for optical or acoustic control of the tools and work pieces.

Electronic tool monitoring systems control the state of the tool, for example using acoustic emissions or the force working on the tool. Most systems, however, measure the effective electrical power of the tool or work piece drive motors since the measurement of the effective power can be very sensitive.

All the measurement methods listed have the goal of immediately detecting a defect in the tool, whether it be a dull cutting edge or a fracture of the tool, while work with it is still in progress in order to prevent further damage to the tool or the work piece, or even the production of scrap lasting over several work pieces.

The main tasks of tool monitoring:

• Tool fracture detection in all metal cutting tool machines
  
• Tool wear detection, specialty: very small tools (even under 0.1 mm diameter) and multi-spindle drill heads.
  
• Protection of the machine through detection of high tool loads which exceeds learned load patterns.
  
• Dimension control for the work piece with control over a scrap ejection flap.
  
• Control of work piece dimensions with control of a reject switch.

This is possible for users of tool monitoring:

• Pauses and night runs of machine tools.
  
• Operation of multiple machines by one operator.
  
• Increasing the number of work pieces produced per hour.

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