Conductance sensing for monitoring micromechanical machining of conductive materials

© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. A sensoring system is presented for high-precision monitoring in real time of tool-workpiece interaction and cutting detection in micromachining operations. It employs a sensor designed to monitor conductance along the tool edge and the material. The results are theoretically applicable to all machining and milling operations on conductive materials. Contact resistance is calculated by measurement of the drop in the AC current voltage flowing through the interaction impedance of the spindle, the tool and the workpiece. The effectiveness of the conductivity sensor is experimentally verified in several micromachining operations. An assessment of the prototype demonstrated a success rate of 90% in detecting the cutting states. These results hold the potential to improve the implementation of embedded systems for real-time tool-condition monitoring of micromachining processes at an industrial level.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) through DPI2012-35504 CONMICRO and the European Funds FEDER.Peer Reviewe