Sensory perception: Drilling Performance

Examining chips, machine tool horsepower consumption and broken cutting tools only enables part and tool manufacturers to make a guess—albeit an educated one—at how to solve process problems, optimize tool development and reduce cycle times. Therefore, pro-micron GmbH & Co. KG, Kaufbeuren, Germany, created the SPIKE sensory toolholder to “see” how cutting forces and tool deflection impact a machining process by directly measuring them at the tool where they originate, according to Jon Boring, applications specialist for pro-micron distributor AIT Inc., Englewood, Colo.

The sensory toolholder has a flexible circuit board with a lithium-polymer battery set in an epoxy resin, Boring noted. A wireless transmitter sends a signal to a receiver, which links to a PC. The maximum sampling rate per channel is 1,600 Hz. “So we harvest 1,600 data points per second,” he said.

The sensory toolholder consists of the SPIKE sensor system; a machine tool interface, such as HSK, BT or CAT; and a clamping system, such as a collet chuck, hydraulic chuck, grinding axle or Weldon flat. “We can do virtually anything on that side except heat shrink because it ruins the electronics,” Boring said, adding that the company is working on a Capto machine interface. “Each SPIKE is essentially custom manufactured.”

The SPIKE sensory toolholder from pro-micron measures cutting forces and tool deflection at the tool, where they originate, and wirelessly transmits the measured data to a receiving station. Image courtesy pro-micron.

Hubertus von Zastrow, CEO of pro-micron, emphasized the holder’s ease of use and transportability from machine to machine. “Component manufacturers can just take a few minutes, remove their normal holder, put the SPIKE in and learn a lot about their processes without going through a long, complicated, engineering-intensive process of acquiring data.”

The company is targeting four groups of customers, von Zastrow added. The largest is high-volume part manufacturers, where every second counts, and producers of high-value parts, where scrap is cost-prohibitive. The second is cutting tool manufacturers, which can use the system to complement their lab equipment and to demonstrate tools at customer sites. The third is universities and institutions that combine R&D with problem-solving services, and the fourth is lubrication and material manufacturers that want to improve product quality and consistency.

The applications for the toolholder are drilling, milling, tapping, grinding, reaming, roll forming and friction stir welding. An application for turning is being developed.