Using spindle noise to monitor tool wear in a turning process

A tool condition monitoring system can increase the competitiveness of a machining process by increasing the utilised tool life and decreasing instances of part damage from excessive tool wear or tool breakage. This article describes an inexpensive and non-intrusive method of inferring tool condition by measuring the audible sound emitted during machining. The audio signature recorded can be used to develop an effective in-process tool wear monitoring system where digital filters retain the signal associated with the cutting process but remove audio characteristics associated with the operation of the machine spindle. This study used a microphone to record the machining sound of EN24 steel being face turned by a CNC lathe in a wet cutting condition using constant surface speed control. The audio signal is compared to the flank wear development on the cutting inserts for several different surface speed and cutting feed combinations. The results show that there is no relationship between the frequency of spindle noise and tool wear, but varying cutting speed and feed rate have an influence on the magnitude of spindle noise and this could be used to indicate the tool wear state during the process.