AUTONOMOUS METHOD FOR DETECTING CUTTING TOOL AND MACHINE TOOL ANOMALIES IN MACHINING

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In advanced manufacturing, there exists a rising demand for both high productivity and producing high-performance components with tighter tolerances. In order to meet these requirements, monitoring cutting tool conditions and machine tool health is needed to improve dimensional accuracy of workpiece, extend the cutting tool life, minimise machine tool down time and eliminate scrap and re-work costs. Traditionally, monitoring cutting tool conditions and machine tool health is carried out by operators who perform a manual inspection, which often causes unnecessary stoppages of machine tools and, as a result, costs incurred from lost productivity. However, without a timely inspection of both cutter status and machine tool working conditions, cutter wear or breakage and machine tool malfunction can take place during machining causing significant damage to workpieces. Some researchers have estimated that the amount of machine tool downtime due to these problems is around 6.8% while others put the figure closer to 20%. Therefore, manufacturing costs can be significantly higher than necessary when either cutters are changed before the end of their useful life or after cutter wear and breakage or machine tool malfunction have caused damage to workpieces. Consequently, a real time and automatic inspection of cutting tool status and machine tool health conditions is needed to profoundly address these problems. This project aims to propose a fundamental solution to the challenges faced by current technologies and develop innovative techniques that can autonomously detect cutting tool and machine tool anomalies in machining for advanced manufacturing. This innovative solution will be based on a novel approach known as sensor data modelling and model frequency analysis, which is uniquely developed by the PI's team at Sheffield and has recently found applications in the condition monitoring and fault diagnosis of a wide range of engineering systems and structures. The project will involve a close multi-disciplinary collaboration of ACSE academics, AMRC engineers, and industrial partners. The novel project idea and this unique research collaboration are expected to fundamentally resolve many challenges and produce urgently needed diagnostic technologies for autonomously detecting cutting tool and machine tool anomalies in machining for advanced manufacturing industry in UK.