On-line surface roughness recognition system using artificial neural networks system in turning operations

In modern manufacturing environments, the quality assurance of machined parts has attracted great attention from manufacturers. The surface roughness of a workpiece is one of the most important factors to consider. The need for developing a surface recognition system that is able to replace stylus-style surface measuring systems has increased to improve the efficiency of production. In this research an on-line surface recognition system was developed based on artificial neural networks (OSRR-ANN) using a sensing technique to monitor the effect of vibration produced by the motions of the cutting tool and workpiece during the cutting process. Different combinations of cutting conditions were conducted to develop an OSRR system for a lathe. In order to determine the direction of the vibration which most significantly affects surface roughness, a triaxial accelerometer was employed. Three directional vibrations which were detected simultaneously by the accelerometer were analyzed using a statistical method. The radial direction vibration was found to be the most significant vibration in turning operations. The accuracy of the developed systems showed that the developed system could predict surface roughness efficiently. The developed system not only proposes a surface recognition system which is alternative to that using a traditional measurement instrument, but also provides an on-line surface recognition system for turning operations.