Integrated force measurement for on-line cutting geometry inspection

A novel on-line cutting geometry inspection technique based on the integrated force-sensing method has been developed. A piezoelectric force sensor, mounted at the back of a single crystal diamond tool, was used to measure the cutting forces encountered by the tool system as it plunge-cut parallel micro flow channels on copper foils about 125 μm in thickness. The force data were then converted by a software code which calculates the geometrical dimensions (depth and width) of the micro channels that had been cut. A series of experiments were conducted for four different feeds: 0.1, 0.3, 1.0, and 5.0 μm/rev., at a constant workpiece speed of 2,400 rpm. Error analysis showed that the maximum relative error of the measurement, as compared to the results from the theoretical analysis, is 9.8%. By incorporating this force sensing technique into the machine tool control system, a real-time control unit can be implemented which conducts on-line adjustment of the diamond cutting performance to improve manufacturing quality